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