Native American Men's Group (comedy)

1491s Comedy Group; Xochitl, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

1491s with audience, Simon Fraser University

The 1491s are a Native American sketch comedy group, with members based in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Montana.

The members' sketch comedy has had a growing cult following since the mid-2000s, with videos since 2009. But they are perhaps best known for their work on shows such as Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls [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.

Sometimes wisdom comes in the form of comedy

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 last year before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and widespread European invasion, colonization, and enslavement of the Americas began [8]. More