NEW ORLEANS, LA
The word is, Creole Wild West was the first Mardi Gras Indian Tribe in the city, started by Chief Tootie Montana’s (the later chief of chiefs, December 16, 1922 – June 27, 2005) grandfather, Becate, in the Seventh Ward. They later moved uptown, and all subsequent tribes came out of Creole Wild West. Big Chief Walter Cook ran Creole Wild West for several decades, and Walter Cook, Jr. is the current Big Chief. They may (or may not) have taken their name from the Buffalo Bill Wild West show that came through New Orleans in the 1880’s.