1491s

Native American sketch comedy group

The 1491s

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).

Medium|

* Television
* stage
* video

Nationality| Indigenous
Years active| 2009–present
Genres| Sketch comedy, Narrative comedy
Subject(s)|

* Native American culture
* Indigenous rights

Notable works and roles| New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions
To The Indigenous Woman - The Violence Against Women Act
Members|

* Dallas Goldtooth
* Sterlin Harjo
* Migizi Pensoneau
* Ryan RedCorn
* Bobby Wilson

Website| www.1491s.com

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.[1][2][3]

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!!!!"[4][5][6]

A Los Angeles Times reporter described the group's output as "dozens of videos, some crass, some cryptic, some laugh-out-loud hilarious."[4] 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.[4][7]

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.[8]

## Performances, film and television

[edit]

The 1491s have been featured on The Daily Show, where they made featured content on the Native American mascot controversy.[9][10][11][6][12] They have made videos for social and legislatives issues such as full inclusion of Indigenous women in the Violence Against Women Act.[5][13] 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."[7]

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.[14][7] 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",[15] 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."[16] Between Two Knees was performed at Yale University from May 13 to June 4, 2022.[17]

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.[1][2][3] 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.[18][19]

## Members

[edit]

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!.[3][4][20][21]
* Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee), filmmaker and television director, co-creator of Reservation Dogs.[3][22][23]
* Migizi Pensoneau (Ponca/Ojibwe), television and film writer, producer, and actor;[24] has worked on the shows Barkskins,[25] Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs.[1] He is currently working as a Native cultural consultant for Avatar Studios.[26]
* Ryan RedCorn (Osage Nation) (has also been credited as Ryan Red Corn and Ryan Redcorn), graphic artist, photographer, writer, spoken word artist,[5] and actor; serves on the Pawnee and Osage Court Appointed Special Advocates advisory board;[27] has appeared in films such as 2003's "Dreamkeeper" and including Harjo's Barking Water.[6] As of season 2 is a writer and season 3 actor on Reservation Dogs.[18][28]
* Bobby Wilson (aka Bobby Dues) (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota), visual artist, writer, director, producer and actor,[29] has worked on Rutherford Falls, Reservation Dogs, and Spirit Rangers.[30][31][2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Boutsalis, Kelly (9 Aug 2021). "'This Is What We Should Have Had All Along'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 Aug 2021.
2. ^ a b c Tennant, Zoe (7 Feb 2020). "Rutherford Falls brings Indigenous writers together for new NBC sitcom". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 Aug 2021.
3. ^ a b c d Starr, Michael (3 Aug 2021). "Oklahoma teens California dreaming in 'Reservation Dogs'". New York Post. Retrieved 13 Aug 2021.
4. ^ a b c d "An environmental activist who uses comedy to help stop oil pipelines". Los Angeles Times. September 13, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
5. ^ a b c "Justice denied for Native American women". Al Jazeera America. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
6. ^ a b c Murg, Wilhelm (2012-09-02). "On the Cutting Edge of Native Comedy With the 1491s". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
7. ^ a b c "A Troupe That Turns Tropes Into Takeoffs". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
8. ^ Taylor-Corbett, Lynne (1 June 2019). "Who Are The 1491s and What Is 'Between Two Knees'?". Clyde Fitch Report. Retrieved 13 Aug 2021.
9. ^ "The 1491s". Al Jazeera America. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
10. ^ "Behind the Scenes of Our Tense Segment on The Daily Show". Huffingtonpost.com. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
11. ^ "The making of the 1491s - The Tulsa Voice - June B 2015". The Tulsa Voice. Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
12. ^ "Warning: Native Humor! 5 New Videos by the 1491s - ICTMN.com". Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. 2014-03-14. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
13. ^ "Video Urges Action on VAWA". Indian Law Resource Center. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
14. ^ "Oregon Shakes' 2019 Season to Feature Translated Shakespeare". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
15. ^ "Native Comedy Packs Hard Hitting Truths". The Portland Observer. 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
16. ^ "'Two Knees' bites, stings — and shares a point of view". Herald and News. 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
17. ^ "Between Two Knees". Retrieved 2022-05-27.
18. ^ a b Patten, Dominic (2021-09-21). "'Reservation Dogs' Star Devery Jacobs Joins Expanded All Indigenous Writers Room For Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
19. ^ "Sterlin Harjo Is Not Afraid to Sacrifice a Good Idea - The Reservation Dogs showrunner leads by instinct". vulture.com. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
20. ^ "Dallas Goldtooth". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
21. ^ "Hailey's On It! - Splatter of the Band - Exclusive Clip". Disney Television Animation News. 8 Jun 2023. Retrieved 10 Jun 2023. "Hailey's Uncles are voiced by Dallas Goldtooth, Amir Talai, John Eric Bentley, and Ken Tatafu."
22. ^ "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.
23. ^ 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. Excerpts available at Google Books.
24. ^ "Migizi Pensoneau". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
25. ^ ""The Native characters aren't afterthoughts": "Barkskins" writer on reclaiming Native narratives". Salon.com. 25 May 2020. Retrieved 18 Aug 2021.
26. ^ O'Donnell, E. (January 13, 2022). "Avatar Studios Adds Reservation Dogs Writer To Team As Native Consult". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
27. ^ Duty, Shannon Shaw (18 December 2013). "Community comes out to support CASA program". Osage News. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
28. ^ Simmons, Kali (Aug 2, 2023). "Reservation Dogs Season-Premiere Recap: NDN Storytelling". Vulture. Retrieved Aug 6, 2023.
29. ^ "Meet 8 Indigenous Beaders Who Are Modernizing Their Craft". Vogue. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
30. ^ Joey Clift [@joeytainment] (May 3, 2023). "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" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
31. ^ "(#104) "What About Your Dad"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* 1491s YouTube channel
* Who Are The 1491s and What Is 'Between Two Knees'? – An intertribal, Indigenous sketch-comedy troupe exposes a deep cultural scar
* Dallas Goldtooth at IMDb
* Sterlin Harjo at IMDb
* Migizi Pensoneau at IMDb
* Ryan RedCorn at IMDb
* Bobby Wilson at IMDb