Big Chief
Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes
Chief of the Northside Skull & Bone Gang; musician and former National Park Service ranger.
Oddusee · New Orleans
The North Side Skull & Bone Gang, a related Tremé tradition dating to 1819, dresses as skeletons and wakes the neighborhood before dawn on Mardi Gras morning, chanting warnings such as "If you don't live right, the Bone Man is coming for ya." The gang was revived in 2003 by Chief Al Morris, who recruited musician Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, now its chief. A 2017 short documentary, Skull & Bone, premiered at the New Orleans and Tribeca film festivals. Founded: 1819 Neighborhood: Tremé (Downtown) Comes out: Mardi Gras morning around 5:00 AM from the Backstreet Cultural Museum in Tremé, going door to door through the neighborhood.
The Council
Every name here carries the tribe — the council that leads the gang out, and the members who sew and mask. Council first, then the gang.
Council · The Tribe Comes Out Behind Them
Big Chief
Chief of the Northside Skull & Bone Gang; musician and former National Park Service ranger.
Big Chief
Revived the gang in 2003 and recruited Sunpie Barnes.
Masking Days · When This Tribe Comes Out