1491s#Members
{{Short description|Native American sketch comedy group}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = The 1491s
| image = 1491s banter with the audience.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Members of the 1491s banter with the audience in 2013 at Simon Fraser University.
From left to right: Bobby Wilson, Sterlin Harjo, unidentified, Migizi Pensoneau (not pictured: Dallas Goldtooth, Ryan RedCorn).
| pseudonym =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| medium = {{Flat list|
- Television
- stage
- video
}}
| nationality = Indigenous
| active = 2009–present
| genre = Sketch comedy, Narrative comedy
| subject = {{Flat list|
}}
| notable_work = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqoNkAp0HXU New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Up0drnXX4 To The Indigenous Woman - The Violence Against Women Act]
| current_members = {{Plainlist|
- Dallas Goldtooth
- Sterlin Harjo
- Migizi Pensoneau
- Ryan RedCorn
- Bobby Wilson
}}
| past_members =
| website = {{URL|www.1491s.com}}
| footnotes =
}}
The 1491s are a Native American sketch comedy group, with members based in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Montana. While the members' sketch comedy has had a growing cult following since the mid-2000s, and their videos since 2009, they are perhaps best known for their work in more widely-known shows such as Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs.
Their comedy sketches, spoken word, and longer narrative works depict contemporary Native American life in the United States, using humor and satire to explore issues such as stereotypes and racism (internal and external), tribal politics, and the conflict between tradition and modernity. Their over 150 YouTube videos have frequently gone viral, including their first video, the Twilight parody "New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions!!!!"
A Los Angeles Times reporter described the group's output as "dozens of videos, some crass, some cryptic, some laugh-out-loud hilarious."{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-dallas-goldtooth-activist-comedian-20160902-snap-story.html |title=An environmental activist who uses comedy to help stop oil pipelines |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 13, 2016 |accessdate=2016-09-15 }} Group member Dallas Goldtooth has cited British comedy legends Monty Python's Flying Circus as an influence. The group creates all of its pieces collectively.
The group's name is a reference to the year 1491, the year before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and widespread European colonization of the Americas began.{{cite news |last= Taylor-Corbett|first=Lynne |url=https://www.clydefitchreport.com/2019/06/between-two-knees-1491s/|title=Who Are The 1491s and What Is 'Between Two Knees'?|work=Clyde Fitch Report|date=1 June 2019 |accessdate=13 Aug 2021 }}
Performances, film and television
The 1491s have been featured on The Daily Show, where they made featured content on the Native American mascot controversy.{{cite news|title=The 1491s|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-latest/2014/3/21/-the-1491s-.html|accessdate=28 April 2016|publisher=Al Jazeera America|date=21 March 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/migizi-pensoneau/1491s-daily-show_b_5907244.html |title=Behind the Scenes of Our Tense Segment on The Daily Show |website=Huffingtonpost.com |date= 30 September 2014|accessdate=2016-06-01}}{{cite web |url=http://www.thetulsavoice.com/June-B-2015/The-making-of-the-1491s/ |title=The making of the 1491s - The Tulsa Voice - June B 2015 |publisher=The Tulsa Voice |date= |accessdate=2016-06-01 |archive-date=2016-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623224003/http://www.thetulsavoice.com/June-B-2015/The-making-of-the-1491s/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last= Murg|first=Wilhelm |url=https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/on-the-cutting-edge-of-native-comedy-with-the-1491s |title=On the Cutting Edge of Native Comedy With the 1491s |website=Indian Country Today |date=2012-09-02 |accessdate=2021-09-11 |archive-date= 2016-05-25|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160525031426/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/09/02/cutting-edge-native-comedy-1491s-130943 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/14/warning-native-humor-5-new-videos-1491s-154001 |title=Warning: Native Humor! 5 New Videos by the 1491s - ICTMN.com |website=Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com |date=2014-03-14 |accessdate=2016-06-01 |archive-date=2016-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529024450/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/14/warning-native-humor-5-new-videos-1491s-154001 |url-status=dead }} They have made videos for social and legislatives issues such as full inclusion of Indigenous women in the Violence Against Women Act.{{cite news|title=Justice denied for Native American women|url=http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201209182044-0022344|accessdate=15 September 2016|publisher=Al Jazeera America|date=18 September 2012}}{{cite news|title=Video Urges Action on VAWA|url=http://indianlaw.org/safewomen/vawa_video|accessdate=15 September 2016|publisher=Indian Law Resource Center|date=5 September 2012}} As member Bobby Wilson explains, "There's so much expectation put on Indigenous people in the arts, especially in the media. It comes from a longstanding tradition of non-Native people, most often white men, writing stories for Hollywood and the stage. We're fighting those tropes. If they show up in our work, it's just to lampoon them."{{Cite news|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2018/03/20/a-troupe-that-turns-tropes-into-takeoffs/|title=A Troupe That Turns Tropes Into Takeoffs|date=2018-03-20|work=AMERICAN THEATRE|access-date=2018-09-18|language=en-US}}
In 2018 the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, along with New Native Theatre, co-commissioned the 1491s to write a play for their American Revolutions series of new plays about US history. The play, which ran from April 7, 2019, to October 27, 2019, consists of linked comedy sketches covering events between the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 and the Wounded Knee Occupation of the 1970s – hence the title, Between Two Knees.{{Cite news|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2018/04/04/oregon-shakes-2019-season-to-feature-translated-shakespeare/|title=Oregon Shakes' 2019 Season to Feature Translated Shakespeare|date=2018-04-05|work=AMERICAN THEATRE|access-date=2018-09-18|language=en-US}} Portland Observer critic Darleen Ortega called it "a feat of theater magic so satisfying that, after seeing it three times, I am determined to savor it at least twice more before it closes",{{Cite news|url=http://portlandobserver.com/news/2019/jul/23/native-comedy-packs-hard-hitting-truths/|title=Native Comedy Packs Hard Hitting Truths|date=2019-07-23|work=The Portland Observer|access-date=2021-05-02|language=en-US}} while Lee Juillerat of the Herald and News wrote, "With gobs of humor, it politely lays a guilt trip on white people for the history of injustices against Native Americans."{{Cite news|url=https://www.heraldandnews.com/members/limelighter/two-knees-bites-stings-and-shares-a-point-of-view/article_91e4d2a0-c034-5acc-aa8d-e58bda405685.html|title='Two Knees' bites, stings — and shares a point of view |date=2019-07-04|work=Herald and News|access-date=2021-05-02|language=en-US}} Between Two Knees was performed at Yale University from May 13 to June 4, 2022.{{Cite news|url=https://yalerep.org/productions/between-two-knees|title=Between Two Knees|access-date=2022-05-27|language=en-US}}
Members of the troupe have appeared in films and television shows directed by member Sterlin Harjo, and in 2021 four out of the five troupe members worked on the shows Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs, as actors, writers, directors and producers.{{cite news|last=Boutsalis |first=Kelly |title='This Is What We Should Have Had All Along'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/arts/television/reservation-dogs-rutherford-falls.html|date= 9 Aug 2021|accessdate=13 Aug 2021|work=The New York Times}}{{cite news|last=Tennant |first=Zoe |title=Rutherford Falls brings Indigenous writers together for new NBC sitcom|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/lights-camera-oscars-meet-the-creators-decolonizing-hollywood-1.5450603/rutherford-falls-brings-indigenous-writers-together-for-new-nbc-sitcom-1.5452884|date= 7 Feb 2020|accessdate=13 Aug 2021|work=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{cite news|last=Starr|first=Michael |title=Oklahoma teens California dreaming in 'Reservation Dogs'|url=https://nypost.com/2021/08/03/taika-waititis-reservation-dogs-a-slice-of-life-comedy/|date=3 Aug 2021|accessdate=13 Aug 2021|work=New York Post}} As of season 2 of Reservation Dogs, with the addition of Ryan RedCorn to the writers' room, the entire troupe are working on the well-received show.{{Cite news|last=Patten|first=Dominic|date=2021-09-21|title='Reservation Dogs' Star Devery Jacobs Joins Expanded All Indigenous Writers Room For Season 2|url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/reservation-dogs-devery-jacobs-season-2-writers-sterlin-harjo-erica-tremblay-blackhorse-lowe-chad-charlie-ryan-redcorn-dallas-goldtooth-1234841604/|access-date=2021-10-14|work=Deadline}}{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/sterlin-harjo-reservation-dogs-season-2-interview.html |title=Sterlin Harjo Is Not Afraid to Sacrifice a Good Idea - The Reservation Dogs showrunner leads by instinct |website=vulture.com |date=2022-09-28 |accessdate=2022-09-29}}
Members
The individual members of the 1491s are:
- Dallas Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota/Diné), Keystone XL campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, Dakota language-instructor, writer, artist, and actor. His acting credits include Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls, Ghosts, and Hailey's On It!.{{cite web|title=Dallas Goldtooth |url= https://www.theguardian.com/profile/dallas-goldtooth |website=The Guardian|accessdate=28 April 2016}}{{cite web|title=Hailey's On It! - Splatter of the Band - Exclusive Clip|url=https://disneytvanimation.com/post/719600008035549184/in-the-series-first-musical-episode-hailey-must|website=Disney Television Animation News|date= 8 Jun 2023|accessdate=10 Jun 2023|quote=Hailey's Uncles are voiced by Dallas Goldtooth, Amir Talai, John Eric Bentley, and Ken Tatafu.}}
- Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee), filmmaker and television director, co-creator of Reservation Dogs.[http://newsok.com/sterlin-harjo-honored-by-oklahoma-film-critics/article/3619597 "Sterlin Harjo honored by Oklahoma Film Critics: The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle will present its 2011 Tilghman Award to state filmmaker Sterlin Harjo."] The Oklahoman, November 4, 2011.Joanna Hearne and Zach Schlachter, "An Interview with Sterlin Harjo and Blackhorse Lowe", Native Americans on Film: Conversations, Teaching, and Theory (University Press of Kentucky, 2013), {{ISBN|978-0813140346}}, pp. 169ff. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NT17KYUyYlgC&dq=sterlin+harjo&pg=PT169 Excerpts available] at Google Books.
- Migizi Pensoneau (Ponca/Ojibwe), television and film writer, producer, and actor;{{cite news|title=Migizi Pensoneau|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/migizi-pensoneau/|accessdate=28 April 2016|work=The Huffington Post}} has worked on the shows Barkskins,{{cite news|title="The Native characters aren't afterthoughts": "Barkskins" writer on reclaiming Native narratives|url=https://www.salon.com/2020/05/25/barkskins-nat-geo-native-people-migizi-pensoneau/|date=25 May 2020|accessdate=18 Aug 2021|work=Salon.com}} Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs. He is currently working as a Native cultural consultant for Avatar Studios.{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/avatar-studios-migizi-pensoneau-native-consultant-reservation-dogs/|title=Avatar Studios Adds Reservation Dogs Writer To Team As Native Consult|work=Screen Rant|last=O'Donnell|first=E.|date=January 13, 2022|access-date=June 15, 2024}}
- Ryan RedCorn (Osage Nation) (has also been credited as Ryan Red Corn and Ryan Redcorn), graphic artist, photographer, writer, spoken word artist, and actor; serves on the Pawnee and Osage Court Appointed Special Advocates advisory board;{{cite web|last1=Duty|first1=Shannon Shaw|title=Community comes out to support CASA program|url=http://osagenews.org/en/article/2013/12/18/community-comes-out-support-casa-program/|website=Osage News|accessdate=28 April 2016|date=18 December 2013|archive-date=5 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505213538/http://osagenews.org/en/article/2013/12/18/community-comes-out-support-casa-program/|url-status=dead}} has appeared in films such as 2003's "Dreamkeeper" and including Harjo's Barking Water. As of season 2 is a writer and season 3 actor on Reservation Dogs.{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/reservation-dogs-season-3-premiere-recap-episode-1-bussin.html|title=Reservation Dogs Season-Premiere Recap: NDN Storytelling|work=Vulture|last=Simmons|first=Kali|date=Aug 2, 2023|access-date=Aug 6, 2023}}
- Bobby Wilson (aka Bobby Dues) (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota), visual artist, writer, director, producer and actor,{{cite web|title=Meet 8 Indigenous Beaders Who Are Modernizing Their Craft|url=https://www.vogue.com/vogueworld/article/indigenous-beadwork-instagram-artists-jewelry-accessories|website=Vogue|date=24 April 2019 |access-date=24 April 2019}} has worked on Rutherford Falls, Reservation Dogs, and Spirit Rangers.{{Cite tweet |author=Joey Clift |user=joeytainment |number=1653839455986536449 |title=Spirit Rangers Season 2 comes out May 8th and we just announced a bunch of our voice cast!! It was so fun working with all of these Native and Indigenous superstars and I can't wait for ya'll to hear them in the new episodes! #SpiritRangers |date= May 3, 2023}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20210726fxh02/|title=(#104) "What About Your Dad"|website=The Futon Critic|access-date=July 26, 2021}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/user/the1491s 1491s YouTube channel]
- [https://www.clydefitchreport.com/2019/06/between-two-knees-1491s/ Who Are The 1491s and What Is 'Between Two Knees'? – An intertribal, Indigenous sketch-comedy troupe exposes a deep cultural scar]
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5350054/ Dallas Goldtooth at IMDb]
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1802161/ Sterlin Harjo at IMDb]
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3529718/ Migizi Pensoneau at IMDb]
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2952283/ Ryan RedCorn at IMDb]
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10625029/ Bobby Wilson at IMDb]
{{authority control}}
Category:21st-century Native American people
Category:American comedy troupes
Category:American sketch comedians
Category:Native American comedians
Category:Native American dramatists and playwrights
Category:Native American filmmakers
Category:Native American male actors
Category:Native American activists