Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians

by Kennedy, Al

• ISBN13: 9781589806962
• ISBN10: 1589806964
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-09-01
• Publisher: Pelican Pub Co Inc

Summary

From age four in 1937 to his death in 1998, Donald Harrison Sr. embraced the tradition of New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians. As Big Chief of the Guardian of the Flames, he led with both wisdom and passion. This biography of this remarkable man is based on more than seventy interviews with his family and others he influenced.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 9
Preface	p. 11
Introduction	p. 13
Jackson and Clara	p. 19
The Resistance of the Elders	p. 37
From Eager Apprentice to Big Chief	p. 63
The Turnkey's Advice	p. 79
Falling in Love with a Photograph	p. 93
Throwing Signals on the Neutral Ground	p. 107
Are You Hip to Camus?	p. 127
Shoot My Pistol on a Mardi Gras Day	p. 149
Hanging Up the Suit	p. 169
Walking Across New Orleans	p. 187
A Chief Without a Crown	p. 225
Jazz and a New Orleans Big Chief	p. 237
Guardians of the Flame	p. 261
Improvising by the Kitchen Table	p. 287
In the Spirit	p. 305
Listening to “Indian Red”	p. 319
The Legacy of Thunder and Lightning	p. 337
Afterword	p. 353
Acknowledgments	p. 355
Notes	p. 359
Selected Bibliography	p. 399
Index	p. 405
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