Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame – Acknowledgment and Remembrance

7th August 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

“I like being the queen and I like being out there on the streets because I like to have fun,” declares Kim Boutte, the Big Queen of the Spirit of Fi Yi Yi and the Mandingo Warriors Mardi Gras Indian gang. Boutte, who has been masking Indian for decades, will be honored by the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame with the Queen’s Choice award of a Crystal Feather at ceremony on Sunday, August 13, 2017. The lovely trophy stands as a high accolade granted to those who have contributed to the continuum of the Black Indian culture through their work, artistry and dedication.

It was an easy decision for Boutte, 52, to accept when Big Chief Victor Harris, the Spirit of Fi Yi Yi, who is her uncle, asked if she would be his queen. “I said, ‘Why not?’” Boutte remembers. Coming up in New Orleans’ 7th Ward, she had followed the Yellow Pocahontas of which Harris was a flag boy before he established his own gang in 1984. The Yellow Pocahontas was then led by the legendary Big Chief Tootie Montana whose home on North Villere Street became a first stop for many Indians as well as residents of the 7th Ward to gather.

Being on the street was also natural for Boutte because as a child she second lined with the youth-oriented Tambourine & Fan Social Aid & Pleasure Club that was and remains under the leadership of her cousin, Jerome Smith. Smith, a noted community and political activist, was also a supporter and follower of the Yellow Pocahontas.

“I was born and raised by Tambourine & Fan,” offers Boutte who continues to help out with some of the organization’s activities. “Jerome would say, ‘If you don’t dance, go on home,’” she laughingly recalls adding that her Uncle Victor also paraded with the club.

It was under chief Harris’ supervision that Boutte, who first came into the gang as a Little Queen before earning the title of Big Queen, learned to sew. “He taught me,” Boutte acknowledges. “I was watching him and paying attention and I started learning how to do it on my own. I design and make my own dresses and I’m going to be making my little queens’ suits myself,” says Boutte of working on the outfits for four little girls three of whom are Harris’ grandchildren and the other her young cousin. “The whole gang is nothin’ but family and the people who follow me is nothin’ but family.”

Queen Kim, a petite, nimble woman, stands out for her spunky, you could even say edgy, attitude and lively moves.

“I was already an athlete,” she says explaining, in part, her confidence in her position of Queen as well as her agility. “I played sports. I used to run track, played softball, basketball. I was a tomboy, a straight-up tomboy. I still play softball at Ponchartrain Park every Sunday. I try to do all kinds of activities.”

Queen Kim loves everything about playing Indian – dealing with the crowd, walking up the street and waving at people, dancing, singing and shouting.

“Oh, I sing, I sing, ‘Let’s go get ‘em.’ I sing, ‘Who they talk about? Fi Yi Yi!’ I bring ‘em down. That’s us, we warriors, we Africans, we are Mandingo Warriors.”

Queen Kim is a good match for Big Chief Victor Harris, the mighty Spirit of Fi Yi Yi who plays the game ferociously though with much love. “We ain’t about all that trouble, we’re about having fun,” Queen Kim declares.

“Fi Yi Yi is a good person,” Boutte says of her cousin and chief. “He’s very special – kind, friendly and he likes having fun. When Fi Yi Yi retires, I’m going to retire.”

Kim Boutte, who, yes, is related to the musical Boutte family, will be one of several of those honored at the 19th Annual New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Awards, Induction and Memorial Ceremony that will be held on Sunday, August 13, 2017 at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard. Big Chief Keith “Keitoe” Jones of the Seminoles, who has been masking Indian since 1974, will also receive a wonderfully, delicately designed Chrystal Feather award. Others being singled out at the event that is free and open to the public and that cheerfully welcomes children of all ages, include the Creole Wild West’s Spy Boy Horace Anderson, the Golden Blades’ Big Chief Derrick Hulin, documentary producer Royce Osborn, photographer Kim Welsh and more.

The event begins at 2 p.m. with a “Conversation with an Elder Panel,” featuring Frank “Running Bear” Nelson. It continues with the presentation of the awards and includes the always moving memorial ceremony when Big Chief Delco of the Creole Osceola releases homing rock doves in memory of those ancestors who have passed in the last year.

Tambourines ring in the solemn yet jubilant celebration of their lives.

Acknowledgment and remembrance are the essence of the Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame that is shared with all at its annual celebration.

This article originally published in the August 7, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.