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The Mardi Gras Indian Nation 

There are now 45 Known Tribes in the Nation

The 45 (Last Count) Known Tribes of the Mardi Gras Indian Nation have a long and varied history, even among the Indians themselves,  (if the truth be known) the exact history of the nation is not fully remembered. 

  This is the result of many years of history pass down by word of mouth from tribe to tribe, brave to brave. Some of these magnificently garbed men still refer to themselves by the old outdated term of "gang". The now proper term is "Tribe".    

  Much of this terminology is left over from the days the Indians would use Mardi Gras Day as a day to settle old scores with one another  with gangs of roving members, sometimes coming to fists  and knife fights and even worse, shootouts.

 The then, "gangs", would use the confusion of Mardi Gras Day to take advantage of the "weaken state", of the New Orleans Police dept. The NOPD, back in the 1970's, 80"s and the last of the 90's were at some critical times,  stretched to the point of it's operational  limit to contain the festivities, events and crowd.  It was at this, "window of opportunity", that the Indians took to masking  what they had to do to hold on to their territory and defend against any intrusion by rival "tribes".

They would roam their territory and sometimes stray into other areas that were "disputably", in their control.

 There is a certain order to this march, but unless you knew about these "tribes" and their society, you would most definitely miss it.  The order was as hard to follow, with some tribes, as some of their "routes", are today. 

We are working hard to identify, and catalog, then lists the tribes, this takes time as it is often difficult to make contact in some instances. Be patience, it may take years, but we will list them all.  

If you are a member of a tribe and the tribe is not listed here contact us and we will list you here.

 NEW Tribe Requirements 

to be Listed in the Roster of the tribes of the Nation

Tribal Chiefs:

In order for your tribe to be listed on the Roster you now must meet certain tests to be sure that all tribes are bonafide organizations and not renegade clubs!

These requirements are 

1) Listed as a 501 (C3) org with the state of Louisiana at the very least.

2) Must have marched in the last two years, or marched at least 3 times before Katrina

3) Have at least 5 positions filled on your tribe's roster. Besides Chief, you can include any four (4) of the following positions, Big Queen, Second Chief, Medicine Man, Wildman, Spyboy, and Gang Flag! 

4) Must have a logo or emblem and have that symbol trademarked with the state by the end of 2008!

5) Must be recognized by the "Circle of Light", the Indian Councils of the Nation

Tribes not meeting this criteria by the end of 2008 will be deleted from the roster and considered to be defunct and no longer active.