Humour
Report to the Nation: Claiming Europe
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Carter Revard
American Indian Quarterly, vol. 6, no. 3/4, Autumn-Winter, 1982, pp. 305-318
Description
A satirical report written by an Indigenous person claiming parts of Europe for the Osage Nation much in the same way North American had been claimed by European nations.
Resilience: (A True Story With Some Fiction Mixed In)
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Lee Deranger
Critical Social Work, vol. 11, no. 1, Special Indigenous Issue, 2010, pp. 2-4
Description
A story of resiliency by a residential school survivor involving crosses disappearing then reappearing several decades later.
Review Essay: Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Michael Snyder
Transmotion, vol. 6, no. 1, Ralph Salisbury, June 21, 2020, pp. 255-262
Description
Literary criticism article examines the ways that Tiffany Midge uses humour to address many of the race-related issues facing Indigenous peoples in the United States.
The Role of Humor in the Hupa Indian Tribe
Alternate Title
The Role of Humour in the Hupa Indian Tribe
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
William J. Wallace
Journal of American Folklore, vol. 66, no. 260, April-June 1953, pp. 135-141
Description
Comments on humour: occasions for, types and functions of, in religion and literature, and Hupa humor today.
Ronald Hook Interview
Alternate Title
Indian History Film Project
Oral History » Oral Histories
Author/Creator
Ronald Hook
Murray Dobbin
Indian History Film Project
Description
Mr. Hook knew Malcolm Norris socially and attended one of his classes in geology. He discusses Norris's life, family, work and attitude to this native ancestry.
Sister A. Brady, Anne Brady Walther, Dorothy Chapman
Alternate Title
Indian History Film Project
Oral History » Oral Histories
Author/Creator
Sister A. Brady
Anne Brady Walther
Dorothy Chapman
Murray Dobbin
Indian History Film Project
Description
Consists of an interview with three of Jim Brady's sisters. They talk about early life in St. Paul des Metis in the 1920s and 1930s, the politics and lifestyle of their father, Jim Brady, Sr., as well as discussing Brady's maternal grandfather, Laurent Garneau.
Smoke or Signals? American Popular Culture and the Challenge to Hegemonic Images of American Indians in Native American Film
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
John Mihelich
Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 16, no. 2, Autumn, 2001, pp. 129-137
Description
Contends that author Sherman Alexie, through humour and satire, challenges stereotypes and the status quo by portraying the complex and humanizing image of contemporary Native Americans.
Stories, Humor, and Survival in Jim Northrup’s
Walking the Rez Road
Alternate Title
Stories, Humour, and Survival ...
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Chris LaLonde
Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 9, no. 2, Series 2, Summer, 1997, pp. [23]-40
Description
Discusses author and poet's collection of poems and short stories which focus on the Vietnam War.
Entire issue on one pdf. To access article, scroll down to appropriate page.
Subverting the "Mainstream" Paradigm Through Magical Realism in Thomas King's Green Grass, Running Water
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Ibis Gomez-Vega
Midwest Modern Language Association Journal, vol. 33, no. 1, Winter, 2000, pp. 1-19
Description
Examines popular American cultural knowledge and illustrates what some have chosen to ignore, through use of critical character analysis, magical realism, and humour in the novel.
The Table Loves Pain
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Susan Power
American Indian Quarterly , vol. 28, no. 1/2, Special Issue: Empowerment Through Literature, Winter-Spring, 2004, pp. 115-117
Description
Author illustrates an Indigenous worldview in which everything has “spirit” and discusses how that worldview affects their writing and teaching.
Talk About the Horse of a Different Color
Alternate Title
Urbane Indian
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Drew Hayden Taylor
Windspeaker, vol. 23, no. 1, April 2005, p. 15
Description
Humorous article on the issue of appropriate terms for Canada's original inhabitants.
Entire issue on one pdf. To access article scroll to p.31.
Talkin' Blak: Humour in Indigenous Australian Theatre, 1970-2000
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Karen Austin
Philament: A Journal of Arts and Culture, vol. 20, Humour, 2015, pp. 129-164
Description
Focuses on the ways that humour has been used by Indigenous Australian performing artists to highlight unpleasant social issues.
Teacher Resource Guide: English 12 First Peoples: Unit 10: Humour
Alternate Title
EFP 12 – Teacher Resource Guide
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
[Starla Anderson
Jo-Anne Chrona
David Ellison
Nora Greenway
Stephen Naylor ... [et al.]]
Description
Uses works by Drew Hayden Taylor (Pretty Like a White Boy and Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth), Lee Maracle (Yin Chin), Marilyn Dumont (Circle the Wagons), and Thomas King's Dead Dog Café.
Tombo-Chiqui: Or, the American Savage: John Cleland's Noble Savage Satire
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Thomas L. Altherr
American Indian Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 4, Autumn, 1985, pp. 411-420
Description
Reviews John Cleland's 1758 satirical play Tombo-Chiqui: or, The American Savage that reflected the noble ignorant savage stereotype prevalent in Europe during the eighteenth century.
Tootoosis In Film Board Picture
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Errol Kinistino
Saskatchewan Indian, vol. 8, no. 12, December 1978, p. 27
Description
Gordon Tootoosis, from the Poundmaker Cree Nation, cast in mid 1970's Canadian comedy "Pump It Up", a story about an incident in a small Saskatchewan town prior to the Regina Riot on July 1, 1935.
Trickster Discourse in Narrative Chance: How Gerald Vizenor Helped Shape My Life in Academia
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Allan J. Ryan
Transmotion, vol. 2, no. 1-2, November 28, 2016, pp. 21-39
Description
Author reflects on Vizenor’s concept of the “compassionate trickster,” and how that understanding of irony and humour in Indigenous art has affected the author’s own research and career in academia.
Trickster Maneuvers or Minimum Morality in The Toughest Indian in the World
Alternate Title
Images, Imaginations, and Beyond: Proceedings of the Eighth Native American Symposium
Native American Symposium ; 8th, 2009
E-Books » Chapters
Author/Creator
Marija Kneževiċ
Description
Discusses how the comic mobility of the trickster is used to address serious social issues in Sherman Alexie's volume of short stories.
Excerpt from Images, Imaginations, and Beyond: Proceedings of the Eighth Native American Symposium edited by Mark B. Spencer.
Trickster of Literacy
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Steve Hawley
Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 18, no. 3, Fall, 2006, pp. 46-48
Description
Humourous commentary as "mistaken identity and trickery" in honour of Blackfeet author James Welch (1940-2003).
Entire issue on one pdf. To access article, scroll to page 46.
Turning Tricks: Sexuality and Trickster Language in Vizenor's The Heirs of Columbus
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Rebecca M. Lush
Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 24, no. 2, Summer, 2012, pp. 1-16
Description
Article examines a novel that bridges two seemingly opposing cultures.
Entire issue on one pdf. To access article, scroll to page 1.
Unit 12: Métis Literature
Alternate Title
[Teacher Resource Guide: English 12 First Peoples]
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
[Starla Anderson
Jo-Anne Chrona
David Ellison
Nora Greenway
Stephen Naylor ... [et al.]]
Description
Developed for grade twelve students. Presented in six parts: Introduction, Novel Study I: (Halfbreed by Maria Campbell), Novel Study II: (In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton), poetry, drama and humour.
The Unmissable: Transmotion in Native Stories and Literature
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Gerald Vizenor
Transmotion, vol. 1, no. 1, 2015, pp. 63-75
Description
The author describes the concept of Transmotion and how it relates to Indigenous literatures, worldviews and systems of knowledge. Discusses how the concept became central to his work and scholarship.
The Uses of Humor in Native American and Chicano/a Cultures: An Alternative Study of Their Literature, Cinema, and Video Games
Theses
Author/Creator
Tamara Barreiro Neira
Description
Linguistics, Literature and Culture Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of A Coruña, 2018.
Discusses: two narratives by Gordon Henry and Michele Serros, two books of poems by Natalie Diaz and David Tomas Martinez, the films Quinceañera and Smoke Signals, and the video games Never Alone and Guacamelee!.
Very Good Medicine: Indigenous Humor and Laughter
Alternate Title
Very Good Medicine: Indigenous Humour and Laughter
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Cynthia Lindquist Mala
Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, vol. 27, no. 4, Good Medicine, Summer, May 1, 2016, pp. [28-31,7]
Description
Brief article discusses how laughter contributes to good health and the role humour plays in Indigenous culture, Includes quotes from Dakota comedian Mylo Redwater Smith.
The Voices of Gerald Vizenor: Survival Through Transformation
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Patricia Haseltine
American Indian Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1, The Literary Achievements of Gerald Vizenor, Winter, 1985, pp. 31-47
Description
An examination of George Vizenor's use of the traditional Indigenous trickster narrative to discuss Indigenous concerns and issues.
Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and Their Representations
Alternate Title
A Story Untold: A Community-Based Oral Narrative of Mohawk Women's Voices from Point Anne, Ontario
Aboriginal Studies Series (Wilfred Laurier University Press)
Goodbye, Wild Indian
Kwakwaka-wakw on Film
Permission and Possession: The Identity Tightrope
Seeing Red: The Stoic Whiteman and Non-Native Humour
The Whirlwind of History: Parallel Nineteenth-Century Perspectives on “Are They Savage?”
E-Books » Chapters
Author/Creator
Drew Hayden Taylor
Philip Bellfry
Dawn T. Maracle
Karl Hele
Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse
Lenore Keeshig-Tobias
Aboriginal Studies Series
Description
Chapters one, two, four, seven, and twelve.
Walking Backwards into the Fourth World: Survival of the Fittest in "Bearheart"
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Maureen Keady
American Indian Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 1, The Literary Achievements of Gerald Vizenor, Winter, 1985, pp. 61-65
Description
Looks at Gerald Vizenor's satirical story The Darkness in St. Louis Bearheart and its representation of his Indigenous background and ideals.
Weaving the Present, Writing the Future: Benaway, Belcourt, and Whitehead's Queer Indigenous Imaginaries
Articles » General
Author/Creator
Lisa Tatonetti
Transmotion, vol. 4, no. 2, Genocide Special Issue, December 30, 2018, pp. 153-159
Description
Literary criticism article which examines the ways that contemporary queer and Two-Spirit authors are creating a cultural resurgence and decolonizing Indigenous sexualities.
Weesageechak Meets the Weetigo: Storytelling, Humour, and Trauma in the Fiction of Richard Van Camp, Tomson Highway, and Eden Robinson
Articles » Scholarly, peer reviewed
Author/Creator
Kristina Fagan
Studies in Canadian Literature / Études en littérature canadienne, vol. 34, no. 1, 2009, pp. [204]-226
Description
Looks at the use of storytelling and humour to explore connections between the traumatic experience of Aboriginals' past and their problems in the present.