At 94, oldest Mardi Gras Indian dies in Houma
Sep 1, 2017By Garrett Ohlmeyer Staff Writer Isaac “Ike” Edward Jr., the oldest of New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indians, died last week in Houma, a city where he found refuge after Hurricane Katrina flooded his home in 2005.“Houma was home to him,” Cherice Harrison-Nelson, a friend and fellow Mardi Gras Indian, said today in an interview. “It was his new home. He loved to fish, so there were plenty of fishing spots there. He had cousins there, he had friends there that just made him feel welcome.”Edward died Wednesday at a Houma nursing home. He was 94. Relatives and friends of the family are invited to the funeral, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave. in New Orleans. Visitation starts at noon, and a traditional Mardi Gras Indian procession will follow, with burial in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.Largely blocked from traditional Carnival festivities, inner-city black New Orleans residents began forming their own “Indian” groups in the 1800s, presumably to honor Native Americans who helped shelter escaping slaves.Edward first started parading, or masking, with the Creole Wild West tribe, one of the first groups, in 1936, when he was 13. He became entranced by the elaborate costumes and their meticulous beadwork and colorful feathers.“It was a wonderful experience,” he told The Courier in a 2009 interview. “They were so beautiful. I begun to make the suits. I made suits and never stopped.“Historically, each member made his own suit and would gather in groups of 10 or 12 to work on them, often putting in hundreds of hours combined. The first design he created was a butterfly, Edward said, and it remained his favorite.After serving with the Army Air Corps in Italy and the Philippines during World War II, Edward worked 38 years as a longshoreman. He was among the founding members of the White Eagles gang in 1948, which served as the root for many of today’s parading groups.With major changes in cadence, song and dress after that group was founded, E... (Houma Courier)
