Phase I: RESEARCH included the introduction to the Black Masking Indian culture with a sold-
out screening of Testimony of a Big Chief, a 30-minute documentary on the life and legacy of Big

Chief Tootie Montana. Following the screening was a panel discussion of artists and producers
who participated in the video and were close friends to Montana. The panelist included.
McArthur Foundation recipient artist/sculptor Willie Birch, documentary photography husband
and wife duo Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick, and folk artist and successor to Tootie
Montana, Darryl Montana. Professor Horton is the original director of the film. Testimony of a
Big Chief screened in 1997 at the New Orleans Museum of Art as part of the “He’s The
Prettiest” exhibition honoring Chief Montana’s 50 years of masking as a Black Masking Indian.
Phase II: ANALYSIS takes a deeper dive uncovering the history, practice, and preservation of the
culture. Students analyze the significance of the Black Masking Indian tradition through various.
mediums such as films, art magazines, and living practitioners. For example, Black Indians of
New Orleans a film by Maurice Martinez is screened for its historical perspective on Black
Masking Indians. This information is logged as a source of background knowledge for Phase III
of the initiative.
Phase III: PRODUCTION is the culmination of the course whereby students work as a single
production team to plan, shoot, and edit a high quality, short documentary on a notable figure
in the Black Masking Indian community for public viewing and university archives.
The objective of the inaugural Black Masking Indian Documentary Curriculum is that students –
under the tutelage of Professor Horton -- engaged with a unique and rich cultural experience
throughout the course to hone their skills as next generation storytellers and gain a new insight
on how cultures contribute to Louisiana’s rich heritage.