A look back at the Mardi Gras Indian

Carnival season is prime time for the celebrated Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans to show off their inspired guises.

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Chief Howard Miller hand-sews every bead on his suit in preparation for Mardi Gras day on Monday Feb. 7, 2011. It takes almost a whole year and around $10,000 to create the unique costume. Mardi Gras Indian tribes, some founded as far back as the 1880s when African Americans were segregated from white Mardi Gras krewes, are known for the fantastical costumes and rich music they bring to the Carnival celebration.

Kerry Maloney / AP

Miller sews the patches for his Mardi Gras Indian suit at his home in New Orleans. Many of the Mardi Gras Indians including Miller are attempting to copyright their suits as a piece of art.

Kerry Maloney / AP

A Mardi Gras Indian shows off an elaborate purple crown on the streets of New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Second Chief 'Lil Bo' performs with the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras festivities Feb. 26, 2006 in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Children dressed as Mardi Gras Indians perform with the Fi Yi Yi and the Mandingo Warriors during the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Dave Martin / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Participants prepare to ride along with Mardi Gras Indians in the annual Super Sunday second line parade on March 16, 2008, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Mardi Gras Indians march past the demolished Lafitte housing project in the annual Super Sunday second line parade May 25, 2008, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Lil Chief Dwayne Washington, 5, of the Cheyenne Mardi Gras Indian tribe, marches in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans, Feb. 24, 2009.

Patrick Semansky / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mardi Gras Indians march in the annual Super Sunday second line parade May 25, 2008, in New Orleans. The parade features Mardi Gras Indians, which are comprised of African Americans of inner city New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Jelizabeth Samuels, 8 months, is held by her mother Roxanne as they watch Mardi Gras Indians march in the annual Super Sunday second line parade on March 16, 2008, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Ninth Ward Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Comanche Hunter is seen as he prepares to greet another chief during Mardi Gras festivities February 28, 2006, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Mardi Gras Indian Gerard Lewis, Big Chief of the Black Eagles, cries as the parade passes the B.W. Cooper housing projects in the annual Super Sunday second line parade March 16, 2008, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Mardi Gras Indians walk past the boarded up Lafitte Housing project as they participate in their annual Super Sunday 'Second Line' parade May 26, 2007, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Mardi Gras Indians gather to participate in the annual Super Sunday second line parade May 27, 2007, in New Orleans.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Mardi Gras Indian Chief Walter Cook marches in a Jazz funeral parade to commemorate the one-year anniversary of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, on Aug. 29, 2006.

LM OTERO / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cedric Henry, of the Cherokee hunters Mardi Gras Indians, parades through the fair grounds during the 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans on Saturday, May 6, 2006.

ROB CARR / ASSOCIATED PRESS

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