When Big Chief Little Walter Cook of the Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indian gang takes to the street on Carnival Day, he bears both a crown of feathers and years of history. At age 43, Cook has, remarkably, masked Indian every year since 1963. Only now-retired Big Chief Tootie Montana of the Yellow Pocahontas has enjoyed a longer reign. The Creole Wild West, which it is estimated to have begun in approximately 1885, is also the oldest Indian gang in the city.

“I keep consistent,” says Cook...