Here We Come: Voices of a Nation with "Voices of a Nation"

Today's random song is by Voices of a Nation, a group out of New Orleans that does music in the tradition of the Mardi Gras Indians. Unfortunately, I can't find much information on Voices of a Nation, however, it is a project led by Big Chief Juan Pardo of the Golden Comanche and includes Big Chief Kentrell Watson of the Wild Mohicans, 2nd Chief Jeremy Stevenson of the Monogram Hunters, and Romeo Bougere of the Ninth Ward Hunters. The Mardi Gras Indians are 38 organizations in New Orleans known as tribes, loosely separated into Uptown and Downtown tribes. The Indians base their history on escaped black slaves finding help and shelter from local Native Americans, though the first Indian tribe, the Creole Wild West, may have actually been created out of members of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The Mardi Gras Indian tribes traditionally mask and parade during Mardi Gras season, and in the early days it was also a time for violence and to settle scores with other tribes. However, Mardi Gras Indian Chief Tootie Montana almost singlehandedly stopped the bloodshed in the late 1960s by promoting the creation of beautiful costumes. "I was going to make them stop fighting with the gun and the knife and start fighting with the needle and thread," he said, and today, when Mardi Gras Indian tribes meet on the streets of New Orleans, the "fight" is a show of elaborately sewn and beaded costumes and bluster, rather than violence. You can find this song, Voices of a Nation, on the Voices of a Nation CD (2017).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians