Native American Comedy

So I just realized that in all my ranting and raving the other day about American culture and its lack of appreciation for and ability to coexist with other cultures, I forgot to comment on the Native comedy, which I did enjoy. Therefore, I am going to comment on that in my second post for the week and share more examples of that comedy.

First of all, I want to say that I have always thought of comedy as one of the greatest aspects of humanity; along with music, they are perhaps my two favorite creations of human wit and creativity.  Like the music I enjoy most, I also favor socially conscious comedy as well. Among my favorite comedians are Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Joe Rogan, John Stewart, and Stephen Colbert. Like a Shakespeare play, where the fool seems to be the only person who can speak the truth without repercussion, as long as his truth is spoken as a joke, it would seem that the court jesters of today hold similar positions in our world. I have always been amazed by their ability to highlight or poke fun at aspects of our world, our societies, and even ourselves that are perhaps not funny at all and sometimes even quite depressing, all while making us think and laugh at the same time.

The Native comedians exemplified this same ability. Another aspect of comedy that amazes me is the ability of the comedian to poke fun at themselves, their situations, and the situations of those who share in their particular struggles, thus creating a kind of unity out of struggle that is manifest in the common laughter of a those beset by similar circumstances. For example, JR Redwater’s joke about Hollywood executives asking where his braids were, thus eliciting a round of laughter from a crowd who obviously understands that kind of stereotypical racism. Or, his joke about his name, the “white” people in the crowd who were taken aback by the pronunciation of the name, and the punch line of the joke about his father crafting the name with the help of a bowl of alphabet soup! Haha. Ah, comedic genius at its best. This ability to poke fun at stereotypes and racism in general is what makes comedy so special, and in my opinion necessary, because it allows us to laugh at ourselves, at humanity in general, and the absurdity of it all. Jim Ruel starts his routine off in a similar vein, joking, “I hope you guys enjoy my act… and the land… and the guilt… that was for the white people here.” Charlie Hill starts off strong too, joking about “white” people not knowing that Natives had a sense of humor, then delivering the punch line, “We never thought you were too funny either.” His joke about people asking him if he can speak “Indian” was hilarious as well, with him commenting that asking a Native  person if they can speak “Indian” is like asking a “white” person if they can speak “Caucasian.” His joking about the pilgrims as “illegal aliens” was great, especially when he says that they use to call them “white-backs.” This adds an extra element as well, by taking contemporary issues, like immigration, and presenting it from a different perspective, again poking fun at the ridiculous absurdity of it all.

In conclusion, I just wanted to share a preview clip from the “Going Native; The American Indian Comedy Slam: No Reservations Needed,” which was a comedy tour that featured seven Native American comedians, all of whom are previewed in this clip. Some of it may be repetitive, such as JR Redwater’s preview, which utilizes a bit from the video we already saw of him, but most of it is different and there are four comedians featured that we have not seen. So enjoy! 

Native Culture in Juxtaposition to U.S. Culture and How this Relates to the Title of the Blog

While reading Scott Richard Lyons’s second chapter of X-Marks, I couldn't help thinking of the title to this blog. I have yet to discuss it in the blog and thus I have never given an explanation of what I meant by it or why I chose that specific title. Perhaps its meaning is apparent and easily understood; however, I would like to take the time to discuss it now anyway, but in context with some of what Lyons discusses in the chapter.

I began thinking about the title while reading through a certain paragraph, which is, for the most part, written as follows:

Who wouldn't support the revival of Native cultures? They typically promote sustainability, produce happiness and equality, and are usually geared towards inclusion and justice. Traditional knowledge and philosophies, especially those concerned with environmental concerns, and democratic action are immensely valuable. And it is no small matter to detect a growing sense of pride in Native communities that for centuries have been among the most fragile in the world. Through our current cultural revival, imperialism is resisted, development is pursued, independence is growing, and people’s lives are improving. For these reasons alone Native cultures are most definitely worth reviving. (75 &76)

In any excerpt of such length there is obviously a tremendous amount of unpacking, but my mind could not help but focus in on the notion of Native culture as something that promotes “sustainability,” “happiness,” “equality,” “inclusion,” “justice,” “environmental concerns,” and “democratic action.” Along these lines, I must agree with Lyons; who wouldn't support a revival of such a culture? But at the same time, I could not help but also have the thought “who would destroy such a culture?” Of course, at this point we all know, generally speaking, what happened; a clash of cultures between European imperialists/colonialists and Native cultures. Hence the reason Native cultures have been in such a fragile mode for the last few centuries. I mean, come on, what is one to do against armies of gun wielding men who possess the arrogance of believing that they are the only people with a legitimate history, culture, and thus civilization?

As Lyons states, this is why the revival of Native cultures is so important, because it brings a kind of balance back to the world such that “imperialism is resisted, development is pursued, independence” grows, “and people’s lives” improve. But in this scenario, it is Native culture that represents that which is good. So what does this imply about the culture of the United States? If its culture was essentially responsible for the systematic destruction of Native culture, than is it ultimately a culture of imperialism? I mean, if you really study history, that does seem to be the picture that is painted. The genocide of Native peoples, the enslavement and later colonization of Native peoples, war after war with other Native people. Imperialism, colonization, capitalism, invasion, exploitation… etc.  The list goes on and on, and it runs like this all the way up until today, and sadly, it’s still pretty much running in the same direction. Lyons even alludes to this and references it directly in the text when he mentions “American support of the Saudi royal family, its militarization of the Middle East,” and “American-Israeli coalitions against Palestine and Lebanon” (82).

Thus I return to the title of the blog. What is, or was, the American dream? I had always thought, mostly because I was always taught, that the American dream was to create the world’s greatest democracy, where freedom, liberty, justice, and other such noble notions would abide and thrive. Now, ever since I was old enough to think for myself and read a book, I never really believed that. Because reality seems to dictate otherwise, and this reality seems to find itself manifest in the experiences, and thus the thoughts and writings, of all kinds of people. To further explicate my point, let us go through that list one more time:  first, in terms of sustainability, our system is one of the most unsustainable systems the world has ever known; second, in terms of happiness, equality, inclusion, and justice, our system certainly drops the ball quite often in these respects; third, in terms of environmental concerns, we seem to have relatively little care for the pollution and destruction that we cause to our surroundings; and fourth, in terms of democratic action, this has almost become a game of pure mass media manipulation. When looking at it from this perspective, it’s as George Carlin so brilliantly put it years ago, “It’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”

Now, having said all that, I do not want to be mistaken for a pessimist; I do not believe that this is all that America represents, nor do I believe that everyone here represents these negative qualities. But in terms of the system itself. It does seem to represent those negative aspects, and we have not been able to really change this a great deal in all the years of our “democratic actions.” Yes, much has changed; many things have gotten much better, and it was almost always due to grassroots action. I’m not taking anything away from that. It’s part of the reason I think the Idle No More campaign is awesome! I still have hope. How can we give up on that?

However, the dream of the U.S. representing the greatest thing on the face of the earth just does not vibe right with me. One, that is offensive to every other area of the planet and every other people. Hence the reason I despise statements like “God bless America.” And in terms of peace and justice, I also cannot get on board, because we are an extremely violent country who simply will not hesitate to invade whoever in order to maintain international “trade” and, well, business as normal. So, I feel like I am awake in this dream of America, which is really more like a nightmare, in many respects, but again, not all, and possessing this kind of perspective does feel someone like a nervous condition. Mostly, because everyone looks at you like your freaking nuts, haha. But just research the vast connections the corporation Monsanto has to our Federal Government, and you might be surprised, and hopefully a little disgusted, especially when you find out that our new Food and Drug czar is a former Monsanto  lobbyist. Understood in conjunction with Lyons reference to “healthy crops” (87), I do not think Monsanto is going to be so great in ensuring that our “crops” are as healthy as possible.

In conclusion I would like to end with a rather long excerpted paragraph from Lyons, mostly because I think it is awesome! So, here it goes:

Why were values invoked in the “Declaration of Indian Purpose”? Were the authors claiming a right to live in societies defined by different value systems than what they had witnessed in the dominant society, on that had placed them in boarding schools for the explicit purpose of changing their values? Were they insisting on the legitimacy of indigenous arrangements of value that would privilege, say, loving, respectful, honest, wise, humble, and truth-seeking personalities over the kinds of people most highly valued in a militarized, imperialist, consumer culture? A society prioritizing indigenous values would be a very different world than the one we all know today. This other world probably wouldn't value people like Donald Trump and Donald Rumsfeld so much as those kind, gentle elders that many of us have been fortunate to know during our lifetimes, and saying so is not to invoke a culture war or clash of civilizations. It is only to posit the small suggestion that perhaps the American Indian Chicago Conference had something quite ambitious in mind when they heralded the importance of Native values and called it a sign of complexity and an inherent human right. Perhaps what they meant was no more than a desire to live according to a value system of one’s own, but perhaps they held the more ambitious hope that others might come to value Native values as well. (109)

 I do believe this is happening, and I believe it is one of our greatest hopes. I also do not think that these values can be separated from human values; I simply believe that many of the people in this world have lost their way, and perhaps a little bit of their humanity as well. But I do not think it is too late to revive this humanity, and I do believe that Lyons is on to something here in suggesting that another society is possible and that “others might come to value Native values as well.” 

The Inter-relatedness between Lyons, Silko, and Early African Society

I thoroughly enjoyed the readings for this week. I enjoyed the inter-relatedness of both texts and the relationship the content seems to share with what I have been learning in my Women in African History class as well. For example, both Lyons’s and Silko’s discussion of identity intrigued me, as I have always found identity to be an interesting subject of meditation. I thought Lyon’s differentiation between people and identity to be genius, as well as his explication of identity as a social construct. He writes, “definitions of identity are not people; they are in fact things, things used to describe people, and always the invented fabrications of human beings. They are, to invoke the most ubiquitous of buzzwords, “constructions” (36). I have often thought about this myself, but to see it written is another thing all together; it seems to make it more legitimate in my mind for some reason, haha. I have thought about this when thinking of my own identity. For instance, while asking those age old questions like, “Who am I? What am I? What is my place here?” Whenever one asks themselves these question, they are always confronted by not only their own ideas of who, what, and why they are, but also the ideas of others, which are almost always influenced by the institutionalized societal definitions of those answers based on things like physical appearance, as both Lyons and Silko discuss in their texts.

For instance, according to the social construction of who and what I am, I am defined as a white male who happens to be an American, or perhaps American of Irish descent, or something along those lines. Now, I’m pretty sure I have discussed this before as well, but what if I disagree with this societal definition for myself? Is that even allowed? Well, of course, on a personal level. I can define myself as whatever I want. But as Lyons points out, that does not stop others from judging and defining you based on the hegemonic social construction of who and what you are according to the society, more often than not based on your physical appearance. For example, Lyons presents a story of his daughter being called “white” by another Indian boy who wishes to insult her due to her light skin tone. Similarly, Silko tells a story where she was removed from a picture with her schoolmates by a tourist for not looking Indian enough, again, because of her light skin tone. But this works in other was as well. For example, Africans of all kinds, from various areas, lineages, and cultures were lumped into one massive grouping of people termed as “black” by Europeans. This grouping still exists today and it attempts to define an even greater number of peoples from an even greater variation of places and cultures. For instance, one might be Ibo  Hausa, or Yoruba – three dominant, and distinct, ethnic groups in Africa – but  all classified simply as Nigerians. Or, one might be Nigerian, South African, Ethiopian, or Libyan, but  all classified as African. Still, one might be classified as African, Caribbean, or African American, but all be classified as “black.” And the same is true for any of the other grouping words, such as Asian, “white,” and Indian.

I then like the point Lyons makes when he states that, “Traditional Natives did not distinguish and Indian ‘race’ from other versions, although they did recognize different cultural groups” (56). Cultural is the only thing that I can see that truly sets us as distinct from one another. Race is really just a ridiculous concept. To quickly revisit the previous paragraph, what sets Nigerians apart from each other obviously has nothing to do with race; it is their unique cultures, as it is a matter of Ibo culture and language in juxtaposition with Hausa or Yoruba culture and language. Furthermore, similar to the Native Americans, Africans did not define themselves as either Africans or “black” before the Europeans arrived. There was no need to. They were simply Ibo  Hausa, or Yoruba, to name a few. But it is not just this relationship to identity that the readings shared with what I have been learning about traditional African culture, it is also the social systems that seem to relate. For example, Silko states that, “All food and other resources were strictly shared so that no one person or group had more than another” (65). Similarly, the same could be said of almost all early African societies. They were decentralized matrilineal gathering societies where women sustained most of the people on the food they gathered and thus garnered a great deal of respect. Men and women were considered equal and disrespect to ones fellow community member would anger the ancestors. Resources were widely distributed and shared because in these societies greed and the hoarding of resources were considered evil and offensive to the spirits. Lyons also remarks on this, saying that “Indigenism seeks a life where power is decentralized and people live in harmony with the natural world and each other” (64).

Also in relation to this, Silko discusses how people were judged in traditional Native society, by the elders, and what she says also relates to what I have learned about traditional African society. She writes,

My physical appearance seemed not to matter to the old-time people. They looked at the world very differently; a person’s appearance and possessions did not matter nearly as much as a person’s behavior. For them, a person’s value lies in how that person interacts with other people, how that person behaves towards the animals and the earth. (61)

It was, and still is, the same in the villages of Africa, where respect for the elders, for one’s community, and for the animals and environment that sustained that community were valued above all other things, including physical appearance, wealth, and even position within the community. Obviously, there are many similarities between indigenous peoples, regardless of time, place, distance, and difference, and perhaps this is why the indigenous community is able to incorporate into itself so many various peoples all over the world. But, also as I have said before, I am also aware that the experience and struggles of the various peoples in Africa are not exactly the same as those faced by the Native peoples here in the Americas.

In conclusion, I’d like to end with two more quotes, one from the Leslie Marmon Silko reading, “It is only a matter of time before the indigenous people of the Americas retake their land from the invaders, just as the African tribal people have repossessed nearly all the continent” (185), and one from one of my favorite independent underground Hip-Hop artists, Immortal Technique, “They ban ethnic studies claiming our culture will swallow them/ but you can’t conquer people and build a country on top of them/ and then feel offended when they breathe the same oxygen.” 

In this post I would like to share some images I found online. I just entered Native into the search engine on Facebook, and this is some of what I found. I thought it would be interesting to see how people on Facebook portray Native Americans or Native American related subject matter. What made me think of this was a post I stumbled across just scrolling through my own news feed. It was a post from a page called "Revolutionary Images." Here's the post: 

I thought this was an interested post. It's a perspective most people probably don't think of when Columbus is mentioned. However, if you really think about it, it is true, haha, and hilarious. This next image was taken from the page "Aboriginal and Tribal Nation News." I thought it was interesting because in one of our readings the author talked about the homeland security shirts that were often worn by non-native. 

The next image was taken from a page called "Native American Indian - Old Photos," and the description for the page reads, "A collection of public-domain photos, taken by many different photographers between 1845 and 1950, representing Native North American Indian folks from many Tribes and Nations." 

I thought this image was interesting because it reminded me of the images of natives who were made to pose in stereotypical fashions that aligned with American perception of the Indian at the time. I mean, come on, the picture has feathers in the hair and even a tomahawk. The next few photos are a little different. I found the rest on a page called "Native Humor." This page is run by Native Americans. Well, at least one of the administrators is Native; i'm not sure about the rest. One thing I've learned about contemporary Native American culture is that there is a great appreciation and connection to humor. So, I thought it would be interesting to display some images that were presented by a Native American Facebook page dedicated to Native American Humor. The pictures are as follows: 

Native American Content in Contemporary Music

Ok, so this week I just wanted to share a couple songs from two contemporary artists that in some way incorporate Native American content into their artistic expression. The first one is one of my favorite artists, Damian Marley. But the song is a collaboration that he did with an electronica artist, Skrillex. Damien Marley falls into that weird space of being Caribbean, Jamaican to be exact, and thus he is connected to Africa; however, it also seems as if Jamaicans also share in the Native American heritage, even if just due to their similar situations and experiences. I am not sure of Skrillex's background, and I couldn't find out. Either way, the video for the song features Native American actors and what seems to be a Native American theme, whether accurate or contrived. I'm also not sure if the lyrics even go with the video. In any case, both artists may have had little to do with the video, as the music industry often manages that part of the deal, unless the artist is independent of course, which I don't believe either of these two are. Anyway, I just wanted to share and see what people though?



The next video then is a relatively unknown band. Certainly not as well known as Junior Gong. However, they are awesome just the same. This song has no video, but it is the lyrics that deal specifically with a Native American topic. I'm not sure of the validity of the source the song draws from, but supposedly it's from something a Native American Chief once said. The song also references other Native American topics, concerns, and people. The singer, who I'm also pretty sure is not Native American, sings from the perspective of a that Native American chief whose words are supposedly sung in the chorus. Again, what do you think of this?



Ok, this next one is technically unrelated to the previous two, but I thought I'd include it anyway, because I had mentioned it in my previous post, but did not include it there. This is Nneka's song, "African," and I think that it's content relates to the Native American experience. She is also my favorite female musician! Once again, what do you think?

Scott Richard Lyons, Liminality, Indigenous Feminism, and the Relationship Between the Native American Female Experience and the African Female Experience

I really enjoyed the readings for this week. I thought the preface and introduction to Lyons X-Marks: Native Signatures of Assent was both comical, balanced, and enlightening. I’m not sure why, but I often feel drawn to those born of the liminal world; they usually seem to be better at mediation. As the world we currently live in seems fraught  with divisive struggles of every kind, I think this is not only an important ability to have, but I also believe masters of the art of mediation are needed as well. I’m sure they wouldn’t think of themselves that way, as I’m sure Lyons does not think of himself that way, but his text says otherwise. Furthermore, I realize that not everyone becomes a master mediator due to their experience with liminality, as many simply struggle through it, while others are driven mad by it. However, I do think that it is possible to achieve some sort of ability to navigate that space, and thus other spaces like it, resulting in a person who is adept at mediating difficult circumstances and situations. For example, he displays this skill when he writes,

Americans are no longer pursuing removalism, and reversing our losses is now up to us; nonetheless the gaping wounds of history are still visible and will remain so as long as the relationship between Native and newcomer is defined by past betrayals and present inequalities. But what of those promises made? I refer not only to the commitments made by whites to Natives but also to the promises made by Natives to themselves and their future heirs. (8)

It is this kind of stance, this standing in the middle of a situation, this looking at both sides critically and honestly, as both sides are part of the self, that seems to define the scholars of mediation among those of the liminal subject position. In this excerpt he accepts the present situation and states the problem exactly. The solution may be implicit, if there even is a solution, but the nature of the discussion is explicit.

The power of the liminal, it seems, comes from the ability to be of multiple worlds, and thus one can speak as part of each world; they can deal with both sides as if it is there right, for it is! When “white” people, or European descendents, whatever you want to call them, discuss Native Americans, they run the risk of seeming to support the hegemony of their subject position, as many of them have often done  in the past, and many probably still do today. Whereas, when a person of mixed ancestry speaks on the topic, it seems more acceptable. After all, they are of Native ancestry, right? Why can’t they discuss it. And as is often true, most people who share half European half something else almost always identify and are identified with their non-European half first and foremost. Because of this, on some level, they are often more non-European in culture and closer to that of their other side, and so when they speak from that side it makes sense; they know what they’re talking about. One of my favorite Nigerian musicians, Nneka, has a similar background, as she is half Nigerian and half German. Thus, through her music she is able to both claim Nigerian and Germany, and consequently Africa and Europe, as hers. Because of this, she is then able to criticize both organically and honestly. For instance, in one of my favorite songs, “Africans,” the chorus resounds, “Wake up Africa, wake up and stop blaming/ Wake up world, wake up and stop sleeping.” The background of the song is Nneka discussing how Africa’s present state of affairs is not only the result of European colonialism, but that Africans bare some of the responsibility as well. But at the same time, she does not let the colonialists get away with their crimes, as she also reminds the world of their part in the colonization of Africa, and commands the world to wake up to this reality.

While reading the excerpts for this week, I also couldn’t help but compare what I was reading to what I’ve been reading in my Women in African History class. I know there are major differences in the struggles of the African and the Native Americans, but there are many similarities as well. For instance, when Lyons tells of how the various Ojibwe peoples were amalgamated together into one nation, despite their separations over time and distances, I couldn’t help but think of the various clans and lineages, called tribes under colonialism, in Africa that were lumped together as if they were some cohesive whole. This phenomenon broke up pre-colonial states and dived them into different states while at the same time taking separate peoples who had little connection at all and combining them into these new states as well. Of course, this served the colonialists who then played these groups off one another, as the settlers also did, at times, to the Native Americans.

Furthermore, in the article, “Indigenous Feminism: Theorizing the Issues,” when the authors write that

For Indigenous women, colonization has involved their removal from positions of power, the replacement of traditional gender roles with Western patriarchal practices, the exertion of colonial control over Indigenous communities through the management of women’s bodies, and sexual violence. (1)

the comparison between the experiences of the Indigenous women in the Americas and the Indigenous women in Africa is practically the same. Practically everything we learn about in Women in African History deals with some aspect of what is said in that excerpt. In the other article on Indigenous Feminism, “Affirmations of an Indigenous Feminist,” this same link is often made. For example, when the author states that “our land-based societies were much more engaged with ways of honouring and nurturing life – all life,” (82). this is also true of many African pre-colonial societies, many of which were initially matrilineal. Like the Native family unit, the African family unit was also the center of life, and also like the Native American mother, the African mother was the social unit that held everything together. However, colonialism in Africa, like colonialism in America, would attack these family units by attacking the mothers that held them together. Because the Europeans could not grasp the concept of respecting women or treating them as anything close to equals, they were appalled by the power African women had and immediately sought to undermine it. Or, they simply just wouldn’t/ couldn’t recognize it in their ignorance of such a respect given towards women. Thus, they only dealt with men, and gave power to men, which left women out of the loop and created a great imbalance within Africa that still exists today…

Lastly, I also loved this line:

Living as we currently do in a violent and militarized world, a world that operates on hierarchical systems and in which women and children suffer disproportionate levels of poverty and abuse, I am struck by the thought that we have much to learn from the systems our ancestors created to protect themselves and Ka wee ooma aski, their original mother, the earth. (82)

I not only agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly, I believe that everyone in “the west” can learn from the original family and social economic structures that were created and mastered by Indigenous peoples living all over the world.