Indigenous Peoples Day is no joke. But these Native comedians want you to laugh
Indigenous Peoples Day is no laughing matter.
But IllumiNative, a nonprofit working to increase Native visibility in American society, is celebrating the day with a list of 25 Native American comedians to follow.
"I read more about Native American history in the 'Twilight' vampire books than I did in my actual history class," comedian Joey Clift quipped in Comedy Central's Instagram story. "My main takeaway was that my ancestors were werewolves? Rawr. Sorry, just kidding, it's not true, it's not true. I wish it was, but it's not true."
Clift, a Cowlitz Indian tribal member, took over Comedy Central's Instagram on Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day. He also put together IllumiNative's list of Native comedians.
A post shared by IllumiNative (@_illuminatives) on Oct 11, 2020 at 8:01am PDT
"When you meet a Native person, don't immediately ask how they feel about Elizabeth Warren," Clift told Comedy Central's audience. "That would be like me marching into a white lady's house and asking how she feels about the band Maroon 5. Those are both loaded topics!"
Indigenous Peoples Day, celebrated on the second Monday in October, began in Berkeley in 1992 as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the U.S. federal holiday Columbus Day. Los Angeles celebrated the day for the first time in 2018, a year after the county Board of Supervisors passed a motion to observe the holiday instead of Columbus Day in Los Angeles County.
Clift's Instagram takeover promoted the 25 Native American Comedians to Follow in 2020 list, recognized Indigenous Peoples Day and touched on Indigenous cultural topics ranging from Sen. Warren's infamous claims of Native American heritage to the controversy surrounding the name of Washington's football team.
"Native people only have red skin if they're really badly sunburned," Clift joked on Instagram. "So if you see a Native person with red skin, don't name a sports team after their disfiguring injury. Give them some aloe!"
Side note: A Native comedian hasn’t been booked to perform on a Network late night show since Charlie Hill in the mid 2000s. If you are reading this and you book comedians on these shows, please book one (or more) of these comedians. They’re very funny!https://t.co/qoNqf55yz4
— Joey Clift (@joeytainment) October 12, 2020
While Clift's Comedy Central set followed the narrative of "things you didn't learn about Native Americans in high school," the Native American comedians he curated for the IllumiNative list cracked a wide range of material.
Jana Schmieding of the Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux Tribe took to social media on Monday with a reminder that "you’re a guest on these lands!"
A post shared by jana🎧 (@janaunplgd) on Oct 12, 2020 at 9:06am PDT
Ooo bummer: white ladies who identify as witches, it’s Indigenous People’s Day which means you must return your crystals to the land. I’m so sorry plz drive to the nearest rez and hand em over.
— jana (@janaunplgd) October 12, 2020
Brian Bahe, who hails from the Tohono O’odham Nation and is also Hopi/Navajo, fused Indigenous humor with a nod to Sunday's National Coming Out Day.
Indigenous National coming
Peoples Out day
Day
🤝 pic.twitter.com/fw8naK5zIf— Brain Bae (@brian_bahe) October 12, 2020
Happy #IndigenousPeoplesDay beloved 💋 pic.twitter.com/vvKkKn2Nrr
— Brain Bae (@brian_bahe) October 12, 2020
Adrianne Chalepah, a part of the Kiowa/Apache of Oklahoma, talked about the intersection of the Native and LGBTQ+ communities too but on a more serious note.
"In Indian Country we need to get rid of the colonial binaries in regards to sexuality. It’s harmful to our communities to not hold safe spaces for LGBTQ+," Chalepah wrote. "Also, I’m sick of straight Native men relying on gay jokes to be funny."
In Indian Country we need to get rid of the colonial binaries in regards to sexuality. It’s harmful to our communities to not hold safe spaces for LGBTQ+. Also, I’m sick of straight Native men relying on gay jokes to be funny. Step up your comedy game. #NationalComingOutDay
— Adrianne Chalepah (@AdrianneComedy) October 11, 2020
Here's a taste of what others on the list had to say.
celebrating indigenous people's day by blasting Incubus' 1999 single "Drive" & plotting a plan to take over ESPN2
— Dash Turner (@KocoumOfficial) October 12, 2020
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day. I spent 12 hours making these subtitles.
A post shared by Kaitlyn Jeffers (@_kaitlynjeffers) on Oct 12, 2020 at 8:58am PDT
Here’s a clean joke for all you IRS-headz out there. pic.twitter.com/Dwftqn83hh
— Kaitlyn Jeffers (@jeffernaut) October 12, 2020
starting off Indigenous People's day by taking some time to make myself a good breakfast after my Choctaw Language class bc this is what Indigenous People deserve-- access to their languages and good breakfast
— S I E N A ! ! ! (@sienaeast) October 12, 2020
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day from yours truly!
A post shared by Taietsarón:sere Leclaire (@tai_leclaire) on Oct 12, 2020 at 12:24pm PDT
Every day is Indigenous People Day, except April 1st. That day belongs to the Trickster
— Ol’ Loyal Rez Dog (@DeadDogLake) October 12, 2020
So... Do we encourage white people to use spices on their Columbus Day or do we celebrate the fact that they don’t use spices?
— Ol’ Loyal Rez Dog (@DeadDogLake) October 12, 2020
Get you a girl that can round dance and thizzle dance #UrbanIndians
— Jackie Keliiaa (@jackiecomedy) October 12, 2020
Happy Indigenous People’s Day!
Celebrate Natives today!
Call out anti-Native behavior!
Celebrate Natives tomorrow too! #IndigenousPeoplesDay— Lucas Brown Eyes (@LucasBrownEyes) October 12, 2020
Today is #IndigenousPeoplesDay and we're celebrating some of our favorite Native comedians. If you're not already following them, change that:@bigbadbutt @janaunplgd @jackiecomedy @AdrianneComedy @KylaVictoria @jeffernaut
— WhoHaha (@whohahadotcom) October 12, 2020
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.