Just before Mardi Gras, Big Chief Monk was diagnosed with cancer. Unable to march for his 72nd year, he sent his tribe off from his porch with the Mardi Gras Indians’ most sacred hymn. He also had a message. “If you don't keep it going, if you lose it, it's gone forever, it's finished,” says Monk of the tradition that is said to date back to the 1800s. He says that won’t happen in New Orleans: “We keep it rolling.” #neworleans #mardigras #NOLA #tradition #culturalheritage