The 1491s are a Native American sketch comedy group, with members based in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Montana.
Their comedy sketches depict contemporary Native American life in the United States, using humor and satire to explore issues such as stereotypes and racism (internal and external), tribal politics, and the conflict between tradition and modernity. Their over 150 YouTube videos have frequently gone viral, including their first video, the Twilight parody “New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions!!!!”; a Los Angeles Times reporter described the group's output as "dozens of videos, some crass, some cryptic, some laugh-out-loud hilarious."[1] Group member Dallas Goldtooth has cited British comedy legends Monty Python's Flying Circus as an influence.[1]
The group's name is a reference to the year 1491, the last year before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and widespread European colonization of the Americas began. They have been featured on The Daily Show,[2][3][4][5][6] and have made videos for social and legislatives issues such as full inclusion of Indigenous women in the Violence Against Women Act.[7][8] As member Bobby Wilson explains, "There’s so much expectation put on indigenous people in the arts, especially in the media. It comes from a longstanding tradition of non-Native people, most often white men, writing stories for Hollywood and the stage. We’re fighting those tropes. If they show up in our work, it’s just to lampoon them."[9]
In 2018 the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, along with New Native Theatre, co-commissioned the 1491s to write a play for their American Revolutions series of new plays about US history. The play, which ran from April 7, 2019, to October 27, 2019, consists of linked comedy sketches covering events between the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 and the Wounded Knee incident of the 1970s - hence the title, Between Two Knees.[10][9] Portland Observer critic Darleen Ortega called it "a feat of theater magic so satisfying that, after seeing it three times, I am determined to savor it at least twice more before it closes",[11] while Lee Juillerat of the Herald and News wrote, "With gobs of humor, it politely lays a guilt trip on white people for the history of injustices against Native Americans."[12]
The group creates all of its pieces collectively.[9]
Members
The individual members of the 1491s include:
- Dallas Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota/Diné), Keystone XL campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, Dakota language-instructor, writer, artist, and actor.[1][13]
- Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee), filmmaker[14][15]
- Migizi Pensoneau (Ponca/Ojibwe), television and film writer and producer,[16] has worked on the shows Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs.[17]
- Ryan Red Corn (Osage Nation), graphic artist and photographer, serves on the Pawnee and Osage Court Appointed Special Advocates advisory board[18]
- Bobby Wilson (aka Bobby Dues) (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota), visual artist and actor,[19] has worked as an actor, director, and writer on Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs.[20][21]
References
- ^ a b c "An environmental activist who uses comedy to help stop oil pipelines". Los Angeles Times. September 13, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
- ^ "The 1491s". Al Jazeera America. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "Behind the Scenes of Our Tense Segment on The Daily Show". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^ "The making of the 1491s - The Tulsa Voice - June B 2015". The Tulsa Voice. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^ "On the Cutting Edge of Native Comedy With the 1491s". Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^ "Warning: Native Humor! 5 New Videos by the 1491s - ICTMN.com". Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. 2014-03-14. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
- ^ "Justice denied for Native American women". Al Jazeera America. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ "Video Urges Action on VAWA". Indian Law Resource Center. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ a b c "A Troupe That Turns Tropes Into Takeoffs". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
- ^ "Oregon Shakes' 2019 Season to Feature Translated Shakespeare". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
- ^ "Native Comedy Packs Hard Hitting Truths". The Portland Observer. 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ "'Two Knees' bites, stings — and shares a point of view". Herald and News. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ "Dallas Goldtooth". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "Sterlin Harjo honored by Oklahoma Film Critics: The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle will present its 2011 Tilghman Award to state filmmaker Sterlin Harjo." The Oklahoman, November 4, 2011.
- ^ Joanna Hearne and Zach Schlachter, "An Interview with Sterlin Harjo and Blackhorse Lowe", Native Americans on Film: Conversations, Teaching, and Theory (University Press of Kentucky, 2013), ISBN 978-0813140346, pp. 169ff. Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ^ "Migizi Pensoneau". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ Boutsalis, Kelly (9 Aug 2021). "'This Is What We Should Have Had All Along'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 Aug 2021.
- ^ Duty, Shannon Shaw (18 December 2013). "Community comes out to support CASA program". Osage News. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "Meet 8 Indigenous Beaders Who Are Modernizing Their Craft". Vogue. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "(#104) "What About Your Dad"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ Tennant, Zoe (7 Feb 2020). "Rutherford Falls brings Indigenous writers together for new NBC sitcom". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 Aug 2021.