Me funny: a far-reaching exploration of the humour, wittiness and repartee dominant among the First Nations people of North America, as witnessed, experienced and created directly by themselves, and with the inclusion of outside but reputable sources nece

Humor has always been an essential part of North American aboriginal culture. This fact remained unnoticed by most settlers, however, since non-aboriginals just didn't get the joke. For most of written history, a stern, unyielding profile of “the Indian" dominated the popular mainstream imagination. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better. As an award-winning playwright, columnist, and comedy-sketch creator, **Drew Hayden Taylor** has spent 15 years writing and researching aboriginal humor. For __**Me Funny**__, he asked a noted cast of writers from a variety of fields — including such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Allan J. Ryan, Mirjam Hirch, and Tomson Highway — to take a look at what makes aboriginal humor tick. Their hilarious, enlightening contributions playfully examine the use of humor in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional... "An irreverent, insightful take on our First Nations' great gift to Canada, delivered by a stellar cast of contributors. Humour has always been an essential part of North American Aboriginal culture. This fact remained unnoticed by most settlers, however, since non-Aboriginals just didn't get the joke. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better. As an award-winning playwright, columnist and comedy-sketch creator, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent fifteen years writing and researching Aboriginal humour. For this book, he asked a leading group of writers from a variety of fields - among them such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Tomson Highway - to take a look at what makes Aboriginal humour tick. Their challenging, informative and hilarious contributions examine the use of humour in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional storytelling and education. As Me Funny makes clear, there is no single definition of Aboriginal humour. But the contributors do agree on some common ground: Native humour pushes the envelope. With this collection, readers will have the unforgettable opportunity to appreciate that for themselves."--Pub. website Humor has always been a central part of North American Aboriginal culture. Most settlers just didnt get the joke, and a stern, unyielding profile of the Indian came to dominate the mainstream imagination. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better. As an award-winning playwright, columnist, and comedy-sketch creator, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent fifteen years writing and researching Aboriginal humor. For Me Funny, he invited a stellar cast of writers from a variety of fields among them such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Louise Profeit-LeBlanc and Tomson Highway to take a look at what makes Aboriginal humor tick. Their irreverent, insightful and often hilarious contributions examine the use of humour in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional storytelling, and education. Want to know where you stand on the Ladder of Status? How Johnny Six Toes got his nickname? What it's like to be a green-eyed Mohawk? Why Cree is the funniest language on earth? The answers are all in this highly enjoyable collection. Humor has always been an essential part of North American aboriginal culture. This fact remained unnoticed by most settlers, however, since non-aboriginals just didn’t get the joke. For most of written history, a stern, unyielding profile of “the Indian” dominated the popular mainstream imagination. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better. As an award-winning playwright, columnist, and comedy-sketch creator, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent 15 years writing and researching aboriginal humor. For Me Funny , he asked a noted cast of writers from a variety of fields — including such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Allan J. Ryan, Mirjam Hirch, and Tomson Highway — to take a look at what makes aboriginal humor tick. Their hilarious, enlightening contributions playfully examine the use of humor in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional storytelling, and education. Humor has always been an essential part of North American aboriginal culture. This fact remained unnoticed by most settlers, however, since non-aboriginals just didn't get the joke. For most of written history, a stern, unyielding profile of “the Indian" dominated the popular mainstream imagination. Indians, it was believed, never laughed. But Indians themselves always knew better. As an award-winning playwright, columnist, and comedy-sketch creator, Drew Hayden Taylor has spent 15 years writing and researching aboriginal humor. For Me Funny , he asked a noted cast of writers from a variety of fields — including such celebrated wordsmiths as Thomas King, Allan J. Ryan, Mirjam Hirch, and Tomson Highway — to take a look at what makes aboriginal humor tick. Their hilarious, enlightening contributions playfully examine the use of humor in areas as diverse as stand-up comedy, fiction, visual art, drama, performance, poetry, traditional... Aboriginal Studies