Current Topics in Museum Studies:
Issues in Native American Representation
Larry J. Zimmerman
IUPUI Department of Anthropology

On & Off the Rez with Charlie Hill

Video Guide

Upstream Productions, 2000, color, 58 minutes. Sandy Osawa, Director.

Summary:

On & Off the Res' with Charlie Hill" is a one-hour documentary that delivers a stunning knock out punch to the stereotype of the stoic Indian. This straight ahead, inspiring story about one of America's foremost stand up comedians, Charlie Hill, will not only make you laugh, but will raise your consciousness in the process. There are precious few portraits of contemporary American Indians, a motivating fact for the award winning filmmaking team of Sandi Osawa, (Makah Tribe) and Yasu Osawa of Upstream Productions in Seattle, Washington.We learn how Hill developed an early "secret wish" to become a comedian, and how that wish carried him from an Indian reservation in Wisconsin to the nightclubs in Los Angeles, where Hill currently works. Hill's honesty is engaging as he shares his struggles to enter the world of stand up comedy and in the process is ridiculed by comments such as "An Indian comedian? Isn't that an oxymoron?" We soon understand that becoming a comedian, for an Indian, is no laughing matter as noted author Vine Deloria Jr. declares that "Charlie is fighting centuries of stereotypes."
Floyd Westerman & Charlie Hill
Floyd "Redcrow" Westerman and Charlie Hill at a Club Red Performance in San Francisco
We see how Hill uses material from his own life, such as being beaten in school or being thrown out of the Alamo and then works such experiences into his routines as a way to "turn poison into medicine." Performance clips reveal how Hill finally lands in the national spotlight on such influential shows as the Tonight Show with John Carson and the Richard Pryor Show and later on, The Big Show with Steve Allen, Moesha and Roseanne. Hill's last gift from his father was a book on Will Rogers and the program pays tribute to Rogers, who is also of Indian descent. Hill's mentors, comedian Dick Gregory and noted author, Vine Deloria extend the theme of Indian humor with Deloria noting that "Indian humor has been the central aspect of Indian life." Floyd Westerman adds a strong mix of protest music and bitter sweet lyrics that keeps the tempo snapping. Present day performance clips reveal a still gutsy Hill, saying that one day his father took him up to the mountain top and said, "See all that land, son? (Yeah, Dad) Do you realize that one day NONE of this will be yours!"  (Source for the above: Native Telecom, with thanks.)

For some very "pointed" laughs, visit Charlie Hill's Official Web Site.

Questions:

1. Consider the nature of ethnic humor. What makes it so powerful?
2. How has Hill's life as an Oneida get reflected in his comedy?
3. Assuming you are a non-Indian, how do you respond to the humor? If you were Indian, how might you respond?
4. Can you detect any particular biases in the video?
5. What people tend to be the most common or easiest target?
 
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