Resilience Through Indigenous Humour

[Music]

thank you

thank you i thought i was supposed to be

levitated by a group of

men kind of like well hamurai kerry does

it

on stage well

i’d like to begin with a land

acknowledgement

i acknowledge that we are on the

traditional territory

of the haudenosaunee the wendot and the

anishinabek

indigenous people are experiencing a

renaissance right now

and we are growing at a rate that is

four times faster

than any other demographic in canada

you know what that means we’re just

really sexy

our plan is to overpopulate then get our

land back

ani hua se nang queen disney cause

gazette dodem

stephanie pongo jaganashi no swin wikim

kung minas gamak don jaba

hello everyone my english name is

stephanie

ponglish and i just introduced myself in

my language

it’s one of the ways that we speak to

our ancestors before we begin our work

i’m also giving a heads up to my

ancestors

that i may be around some colonizers

so you know if you could throw a little

extra immunity my way

that would be great my name is shining

star woman

i’m a nishnabe and eagle clan from

wikwemkong and skomak

i’ve been asked to speak today as an

expert on indigenous humor and

resiliency

from an indigenous female comedians

perspective

ever since i was a young girl i would

hear laughter within my friends

family and community gatherings

you’ll find us laughing in ceremony

laughing in bingo halls

heck we’ll even be laughing at funerals

it might seem inappropriate to make

jokes when aunt birth is on her journey

to the spirit world

but she would want to see you laughing

as we’re sharing memories in celebration

of her life

which likely includes stories of her

having fist fights with her sister

or the time she accidentally threw poo

on her brother

i know what some of you might be

thinking

stephanie i didn’t know indigenous

people had a sense of humor

i thought you were all just political

and serious

well we are

but we’re also pretty funny and here’s

why

science is finally catching up to what

indigenous people have always known

dr michael yellowbird dean and professor

at the university of manitoba

focuses on indigenous people’s health

more specifically he focuses on the

effects of colonization

and methods of decolonization

neurodecolonization

and mindfulness approaches neuroscience

genetic science and indigenous peoples

and ancestral lifestyles

dr yellow bird stated that the genetic

variant called 5-htt

lpr is a gene within a lot of

collectivist

indigenous cultures this is what makes

us funny

we’ve taken misfortune and turned them

into funny stories

with lessons attached to it

and over the last 500 years we’ve had

plenty of misfortunes to draw from

genocide famine

displacement residential schools 60

scoop oppression

systemic and overt racism but we still

find a way to laugh

during the residential school era indian

agents would come to our communities

steal our young children from their

families and take them miles and miles

away

to these schools where they experienced

abuse

physical abuse sexual abuse emotional

abuse

and death and some children just never

made

it home my grandfather and his siblings

were playing outside when they heard the

indian agents driving through the

community

he took his baby sister and he ran into

the bush

but his two brothers got caught

when he told this story he laughed while

looking at us

and jokingly said they were too slow

and this is his way of coping with his

traumatic experience

yes our humor can also be dark

these were one of the many tactics used

to separate us from our culture

our family our community structure our

governance systems

and our ceremonies my ancestors went

underground to ensure that our

ceremonies

and way of life was preserved so that my

generation

and generations after me can live

menobaumatuin

or a good life

this life we practice seeks to find a

balance within ourselves

and with the beings and land around us

and that balance includes laughter

remember that gene 5 httl pr

well that transports serotonin which

creates feelings of happiness

serenity and laughter

when we are actively involved in our

culture through ceremony

singing dancing speaking our language

we experience this happiness

for example there are over 550 nations

across turtle island also known as north

america

we don’t speak the same language we have

different ceremonies

and different traditions yet i could go

to any one of those communities and

share a laugh

or be teased by other indigenous people

and our culture teaching means we love

you

scholar and activist vine deloria jr

wrote

it has always been a great

disappointment to indian people

that the humorous side of indian life

has not been mentioned

by professed experts on indian affairs

rather the image of the granite face

grunting red skin

has been perpetuated by american

mythology

unfortunately media usually only shows

one side of livelihood of indigenous

livelihood

however if you’ve ever had the chance to

work in an indigenous community

you’ll find yourself laughing through

jokes and teasing in no time

in western society they say laughter is

the best medicine

my people have known this since the

beginning of time

at our origins we have our creation

stories that speak to the naming and the

development of our world

and they are filled with silly beings

stumbling their way through existence

but these humorous mishaps have a

purpose

their mistakes whether intended or not

have consequences and have shaped our

world

these form experiences that we can as

indigenous people

learn from and pass down with our oral

traditions

many indigenous nations have a chickster

bean

who explore the world experiencing

comedic adventure

that teach us about life we also have

contraries or sacred clowns that provide

laughter through despair

and will shake things up when you’re

feeling complacent

which will also help to keep your ego in

check

so when you observe indigenous

populations that currently live off the

land

you don’t see diabetes depression

or anxiety disorder obesity or

high rates of self-inflicted trauma

however now there are indigenous people

like me who live in the cities

anxious about talking on the phones

ordering ubereats and saying things like

decolonization

i am my ancestors wildest dream

i stand tall on the shoulders of my

relatives

no matter how much i weigh

throughout colonial violence we

firewalled ourselves through laughter

and found humor

and everything it is embedded in our

culture

so i want you to take the time to

understand balance within your life

with the bad comes the good with the

heartache comes the love

and you’ll find yourself laughing your

way to resiliency just like my people

as vine delorean jr stated

when a people can laugh at themselves

and laugh at others

and hold all aspects of life together

without letting anyone drive them to

extremes

then it would seem to me that the people

can survive know how