Oddusee · New Orleans

Young Seminole Hunters Mardi Gras Indian Tribe

Demond Melancon, born in the Lower 9th Ward in 1978, began masking in 1992 and served as Spy Boy under Big Chief Keitoe Jones of the Seminoles for over 15 years before elders named him Big Chief of his own tribe, the Young Seminole Hunters, in 2012. His suits, sewn with millions of tiny seed beads, have been shown in museums and featured on 60 Minutes; he received the Joan Mitchell Foundation fellowship (2023), the Gibbes Museum 1858 Prize (2024) and an invitation to the 2026 Venice Biennale. Founded: 2012 Neighborhood: Lower 9th Ward (Downtown) Comes out: Mardi Gras morning in the Lower 9th Ward.