We Had a Little Real Estate Problem
The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy
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4.4 • 10 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
*A Best Book of the Year by NPR and Esquire*
"A remarkable book." —Steve Martin
"An illumating and stereotype-busting history of Native Americans and comedy" (The Washington Post) from Kliph Nesteroff, “the human encyclopedia of comedy” (VICE).
It was one of the most reliable jokes in Charlie Hill’s stand-up routine: “My people are from Wisconsin. We used to be from New York. We had a little real estate problem.”
In We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, acclaimed comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff focuses on one of comedy’s most significant and little-known stories: how, despite having been denied representation in the entertainment industry, Native Americans have influenced and advanced the art form.
The account begins in the late 1880s, when Native Americans were forced to tour in wild west shows as an alternative to prison. (One modern comedian said it was as “if a Guantanamo detainee suddenly had to appear on X-Factor.”) This is followed by a detailed look at the life and work of seminal figures such as Cherokee humorist Will Rogers and Hill, who in the 1970s was the first Native American comedian to appear The Tonight Show.
Also profiled are several contemporary comedians, including Jonny Roberts, a social worker from the Red Lake Nation who drives five hours to the closest comedy club to pursue his stand-up dreams; Kiowa-Apache comic Adrianne Chalepah, who formed the touring group the Native Ladies of Comedy; and the 1491s, a sketch troupe whose satire is smashing stereotypes to critical acclaim. As Ryan Red Corn, the Osage member of the 1491s, says: “The American narrative dictates that Indians are supposed to be sad. It’s not really true and it’s not indicative of the community experience itself…Laughter and joy is very much a part of Native culture.”
Featuring dozens of original interviews and the exhaustive research that is Nesteroff’s trademark, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem is a powerful tribute to a neglected legacy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Comedian Nesteroff (The Comedians) delivers a veritable who's who of Native American comedy from "the rez" to New York City in this sometimes disturbing yet beautiful history. Starting with the contemporary Ojibwe comic Jonny Roberts—who, like many of his contemporaries, must drive hours to get to an open mic—and jumping back to the racist history of nearly forced Native participation in P.T. Barnum's and Buffalo Bill shows, Nesteroff's narrative returns often to the story of Oneida comic Charlie Hill. Hill's ability to weave Native politics artfully into his work made him a superstar in the '70 after he starred on Letterman, and he later used his success to jump-start the careers of other Native comics. Nesteroff also covers the 1491s—a Native sketch group—and the latest crew of Native comedic stars, among them Adrianne Chalepa, and TV writers Lucas Brown Eyes and Sierra Ornelas, who continue to work to put Indigenous actors on the big screen. This sharp collection addresses the politics, history, and merits of Native comedy in a way that's never been done before.
