42 TRIBES Week 32: Big Chief John “Twin” Ohillia

TRIBAL TIMELINE

Red Cheyenne Tribe
2016 – Present – Big Chief John “Twin” Ohillia

At the age of fifteen, Big Chief John “Twin” Ohillia started following the Comanche Hunters and fell in love with the Black Masking Culture. When Chief Ohillia’s cousin Big Chief Bo of the Young Cheyenne came on the scene, John started following him holding his stick, wings, and hat while his twin brother, Jonathan Ohillia, played drums. Chief John says, “I never stopped after that the needle started to roll”. At that point, Chief was ready. He sat down with Big Chief Bo to speak about him and his brother masking under Young Cheyenne. Originally, they were going to run Chief Scout, but Ferdinand Beaguard stepped in and said they were going to run Flag Boy. In 2002, Johns’ twin brother Jonathan Ohillia masked as Flag Boy. After that John was ready to start sewing for himself, but then Katrina hit. As soon as they returned to New Orleans, he started sewing again. As Chief John says when he started sewing again it was “All hell, tell the Captain, I had to do something”. John started running Flag Boy and fell deeper in love with this culture before evolving into Big Chief of the Red Cheyenne. Continue reading →

42 Tribes Week 31: Big Chief Devin “OX” Williams

TRIBAL TIMELINE:
2012 – Present – Big Chief Devin “OX” Williams

Due to our press time, it was necessary to conduct this interview before Mardi Gras. We met with Chief Williams on a rainy day, perfect for sewing, especially close to Mardi Gras morning. It is from this location where he will stand in front of his tribe and nation to sing their prayer, “Indian Red”, for protection and safe travels. After the ceremony, Chief Williams will lead his tribe to meet other tribes, friend or foe. Continue reading →

42 Tribes Week 30: Big Chief Shaka Zulu

TRIBAL TIMELINE:

1860-1919- Big Chief Becate Batiste Krewe of Wild West
1935-1947- Big Chief Alfred Montana 8th Ward Hunters & Monogram Hunters
1945-2005- Big Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana Yellow Pocahontas Hunters
2006-2017- Big Chief Darryl “Mamut” Montana Yellow Pocahontas Hunters
2018 – Present- Big Chief Shaka Zulu Yellow Pocahontas Hunters

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42 Tribes Week 27: Big Chief Jermaine “Jigga” Bossier

TRIBAL TIMELINE:
2009 – Present – Big Chief Jermaine “Jigga” Bossier
Big Chief Jermaine “Jigga” Bossier was bitten by the masking bug at the age of 6. As he says, “it was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen”. It wasn’t until the age of fourteen that he was able join in the culture. Chiefs’ father and grandfather were musicians. His grandfather Raymond Lewis’ song, “Imma Put Some Hurt on You”, was covered by the Neville Brothers and he appeared on American Bandstand. His father was in a band in late 70’s early 80’s called Soul Dimension. Chief himself played baritone in the band and sang in the choir. His mother was the one that exposed him to the culture. His sister second lined for Tambourine and Fan with Big Duck Jerome Smith. Chief says, “when I was kid everybody wanted to be an Indian”. Spy Boy Fred Johnson of the Yellow Pocahontas is credited by Chief as a major influence in his early years of training along with the Great Tootie Montana, Big Chief of the Yellow Pocahontas. Continue reading →

42 Tribes Week 26: Big Chief John Ellison

TRIBAL TIMELINE:
2016 – Present Big Chief John Ellison
Culture? Where does it start? Is it a group decision? How does it expand? It seems the answer can be liner for the first three questions. It appears, it starts from one, then followed and evolves as it moves forward. The latter question can be a tangled web. Culture has Culture bearers not admission administrators. There are no written criteria for expanding a culture, or who can, and how they should do so. There is system of Respect, in the form of permission from forefathers (Big Chief) and mothers (Queens). Allow me the liberty to say that, the process works well in theory. In reality, that can get pretty muddy, to say the least. But this culture has its own way of flushing out the spiritually weak. One unwritten rule is, anyone desiring to bring out a gang must have permission from either a select group that speaks on your behalf or to be given the right to by an original culture bearer of that disbanded tribe. Obviously, there are many scenarios that can come out of that. Just for the fact it’s an unwritten rule. Continue reading →

42 Tribes Week 25: Big Chief Edward “Freaky E” Johnson

TRIBAL TIMELINE
2012 – Present Big Chief Edward “Freaky E” Johnson
There are very few good things that came from the Katrina catastrophe. The more we speak with younger chiefs we see the effect much more clearly. Before the storm Chief Edward was raised and still lives in the Heart of Uptown on the corner of Louisiana and Barone. he grew up across the street from the legendary Big Chief Bo Dollis Sr. of the Wild Magnolias and went to elementary school with Bo Dollis Jr. and his late father Joseph Johnson Sr. was a Music Minister and Member of Zulu. His spiritual roots given by his father while playing drums in the church connects to Chief also being immersed in the brass band culture as a member of “The Young Pinstripe Brass Band and VP of the “We are one” social aid and pleasure club and most of his tribe being comprised of brass band players. Those roots make it easy to see why Big Chief was destined to be an uptown Culture bearer. Continue reading →

42 Tribes Week 24: Big Chief Nelson “Mandela Jr.” Lewis

TRIBAL TIMELINE:
2008 – Present – Big Chief Nelson “Mandela Jr.” Lewis

Chief Nelson started masking as a Wildman with no tribe. Chief first saw Black Masking Indians as a child on horseback from the Black Mohawks Tribe that used to come out of Shrewsbury, but now is out of Uptown. “I started carving masks and receiving spirits on how to draw”, along with the spirit of his mother’s sewing. Before the age of 12 he would watch his mom sew as he was honing his skills in mask carving. As Chief says, “she put that spirit in me, in my later years I started sewing”. It seems that the spirits have been guiding Chief Nelson since he was a child. These two accounts of spiritual connectedness are quite unique.

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