Navajo comic Marc Yaffee tells a joke about being born and raised not on a reservation but in “a small fishing village on the Pacific Coast called Los Angeles.” When people ask him whether he prefers the term “Native American,” “American Indian” or “First Nation,” Yaffee replies, “I kinda like ‘original landowner.'”
Fellow Native comedian and actor Ernest Tsosie, who grew up on the Navajo Nation in Arizona, has his own bit about not actually wanting the return of land that white settlers stole from his ancestors.
“I can’t even keep my yard clean. What am I gonna do with a whole country?” Tsosie jokes. “And who wants the land back after all these years? It’s like getting back a used mattress.”
Jim Ruel, a self-described “half blood” — his father is white and his mother is Ojibwe, or Chippewa — tells a joke about his dad not remembering which tribe his kids belong to: “He’s like, ‘Uh, I think you’re the Chippendales?'”
If these and other jokes about Native American life make audiences laugh but also think and squirm a little in their seats, that’s the point. Some Stars of Native American Comedy showcases the work of four Indigenous comedians who’ve made names for themselves in film, television and standup comedy. Yaffee, Tsosie, Ruel and Monique Moreau — a Cree/Saulteaux comedian, writer and voice-over actress originally from Alberta, Canada — will perform two shows on Monday, February 17, at Sawtooth Kitchen in Hanover, N.H., presented by Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center for the Arts.
“I’m always looking for elegant vehicles for messages, and comedy is certainly one of those,” said Andre Bouchard, executive creative producer at Indigenous Performance Productions, the Olympia, Wash., nonprofit that is bringing the four comedians to the area. “There’s an opportunity, every time I put people onstage, to retell the story of Native people.”
Until recently, Indigenous writers, actors and comedians had few opportunities to write and portray their own stories for mainstream audiences. For decades, white writers and directors in Hollywood reinforced long-held stereotypes about Indigenous people, often casting non-Native actors in the roles. But recent hit series such as “Reservation Dogs” on FX and “Rutherford Falls” on Peacock have allowed Native American storytellers and actors to reach a wider audience.
At Some Stars of Native American Comedy, audiences should expect takedowns of sports team mascots, the clueless questions about spirit animals and living in teepees, and other common perceptions of life on and off the rez.
“As a Native comedian, if you go to a college campus, you get a lot of shocked people [who say], ‘I can’t believe you’re joking about that!'” Ruel told Seven Days. “Actually, that’s what we joke about. It’s remarkable how little familiarity there is with the idea of Native Americans in a modern context.”
Ruel, 52, was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wis., and attended Stanford University for electrical engineering before pursuing his childhood dream of standup comedy.
Now a successful writer, director, producer and actor, Ruel was a finalist on NBC’s “Diversity Talent Search,” which led to his first television appearance, on the comedy series “The World Stands Up.” He was also featured on Showtime’s “Goin’ Native: American Indian Comedy Slam” and “First Nations Comedy Experience” on FNX, a national network devoted to Indigenous content from around the world.
Ruel, who grew up listening to white comedians such as George Carlin and Mel Brooks and Black comedians such as Bill Cosby, laments the dearth of their Native American counterparts. And comedy isn’t the only profession in which Indigenous talents have been underrepresented, he said.
“You can say that about any profession that potentially gets you famous: athlete, author, musician, actor, director, politician,” he continued. “There are no Native American celebrities, period, which is insane … Our comedy was here first.”
Not all the humor in Some Stars of Native American Comedy is devoted to Native American issues. Moreau, who has autism, also riffs on her neurodiversity, including one bit aimed at dispelling the myth that autistic people don’t enjoy sex.
“I personally love sex,” she said in a recent standup performance. “I think it’s because I like the repetition.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “No Reservations | Indigenous comics let fly uncomfortable truths in Some Stars of Native American Comedy“
This article appears in Love & Marriage Issue 2025.
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