Charlie Hill dies

Comedian Charlie Hill Walks OnCharlie Hill, a legend of standup comedy who has influenced virtually every Native comic who followed, lost his battle with lymphoma earlier today. As the news spreads through Indian country, condolences and tributes to a man who touched the lives of many are pouring forth. Here are just a few.

Actor Gary Farmer, via Facebook:

My sincere condolences to family, friends, and fans for my long time friend, Charlie Hill who passed on early this morning. We met in Oneida, WI in the early 80's and remained friends throughout until our last gig together in Minnesota to roast Dennis Banks...when he introduced me and the band. It was a memorable introduction...and my last funny memory of a great comedian.

Comedian Roseanne Barr, via Twitter:

Charlie Hill revolutionary stand up comic /wordsmith vagenius has vac8d ths realm

Photographer Thosh Collins, via Facebook:

We never lose great people.... we get to enjoy their guidance from the spirit world. Our time with them is just delayed until our spirit entities meet again in another place. ... [Charlie Hill] was the first successful Native American comedian appearing on shows like Richard Prayor, Jonny Carson, David Letterman and Jay Leno. Charlie was not only a funny man but was a very kind and loving man to his family and those around him. ... Your journey touched all.

Thanks for the Laughs: 8 Must-Watch Clips of the Late Charlie HillStandup comedian Charlie Hill lost his battle with lymphoma yesterday morning. But as Indian country mourns a pioneering performer, it's also important to remember what he was all about: laughter. As the "first" Native comedian -- Hill himself pointed out that Will Rogers and Jonathan Winters were more deserving of the title--he made a lot of American Indians laugh over a career that stretches back to the 1970s. In fact, he made everyone laugh, and in doing so helped change preconceived notions about what Natives could and couldn't be. This was no stoic Indian crying about pollution--this was one funny guy, which is how every comedian hopes to be remembered.Pow Wow Comedy Jam Farewell Letter to Charlie Hill From Marc YaffeeYou worked and rubbed elbows with the biggest comedy stars and you still stayed Charlie from the Rez. You were savvy enough to avoid being stereotyped but smart and strong enough to share you culture and uniquely Indian perspective. You made strangers feel like friends and newer comedians feel like equals. You were just you, whether onstage at The Comedy Store in Hollywood or drinking a coffee in Tuba City. You could have (and should have) been as famous as Leno or Carlin or Cosby (and you are in Indian Country). Except, you weren’t about the fame and money. You were about making people laugh, sharing stories and living life on your terms. You always stayed true to yourself, your culture and your family. It is a sad time to see you go but you left us a lot of great and funny memories that will live on for a long, long time.

Charlie Hill on politics

Charlie Hill: 'The Indian Spirit is America'

By Jason Morgan EdwardsHill is no fan of politicians, in general. "I don't support none of those SOBs," he says. "I don't believe politicians have any kind of answers. They never did. They never will. They're just 3rd and 4th generation Europeans that have no answers for Native people." Hill believes that the real instigators of change in the world "have been the artists, the writers, the poets, the musicians because they're the ones people always censor. They're the ones people lock up. Those are the ones who make you think." He goes on to say, "There's always controversy when they put new artistic products out. They take off the straitjacket." As an example, Hill brings up the late-80s gangsta-rap group NWA: As he sees it, they were shining the spotlight on the conditions and problems that exist in the inner-city, not unlike Richard Pryor when he came onto the scene. "People were terrified of him, until later they caught up, and started imitating him," Hill recalls. "He was about freedom of expression, and what you say in your story."

Despite his disdain for politicians, Hill voted for Barack Obama--the only Presidential candidate he has ever voted for. "He's a tribesman, and a person of color," Hill says. "And, I just thought, this one time, I'll vote." Hill is confident that America will never have another white President. "Once you go black, you never go back," he quips. The nation is in the process of rejecting the old-boy network. "That kind of thinking is on the way out, like the 8-track tape," Hill says. "Guys like Romney and Bush and Bush II and all those guys--Dan Quayle, Sarah Pale-face--all of them. They're obsolete and they're out of touch." Hill believes that "overall, the Indians have the key to everything. I always say we have the answers to fix this country because we have the owner's manual--and that's not just a joke."

"It gets right down to us," Hill explains. "If people don't know Native people, they don't know America. If Americans don't know anything about us, they don't know anything about themselves. When Americans don't know Indian people, they must look at their own world, their own science, their arts, their medicine in the same myopic way. It's right in their faces, and it's like, they don't get it." Hill is quick to point out that he does not believe that white people are evil, but collectively, and generically, when it comes to Indians, "Americans are stuck on stupid. It's not a skin color, it's an attitude. And, the only way they're going to get right with everything is to get right with Indians. The way it should be done--with honor and respect."
Comment:  For more on Charlie Hill, see NIGA 2012 (Day 1) and IIIRM Festival Honors Charlie Hill.

NIGA 2012 (Day 1)

My pal Victor and I headed to San Diego for the National Indian Gaming Association's annual convention Tuesday. For some reason, Native celebrities were thick on the ground this year.

We had several people at our Pechanga.net booth, so I was free to wander around. Here are some of my sightings:

I said hello briefly to Hollywood activist Sonny Skyhawk, who was wandering the floor like me.

Wes Studi was at the FNX booth to tout its nascent TV channel.

Nearby, Joanelle Romero attended NIGA for the first time to tout her nascent TV channel. Awkward!

The Crooked Arrows people had a booth to tout their upcoming lacrosse movie starring non-Native Brandon Routh.

Comedian Charlie Hill was eating in a lounge area.

Adam Beach stopped by our booth to tout Pechanga.net and pose for pictures.

Guitarist Steve Salas also stopped by and talked music with Victor.

I talked to Studi briefly, telling him I worked for the NativeCelebs page on Facebook. He was vaguely aware of its existence.

I followed Joanelle's progress because I helped rewrite her press release and lent her my old laptop computer and monitor cable for her display. Alas, the laptop couldn't pick up the site's Wi-Fi for some reason.

I got to test my new iPod Touch, taking photos and posting them to Facebook with it. It worked fine, though the picture quality left something to be desired.

After a long day on the floor, Victor was anxious to get back to work. So we skipped the Wendell Chino dinner and performance by Dwight Yoakum. Someone said Yoakum's songs all sounded the same, which goes without saying because he's a country singer.

Here's a brief report on the opening ceremony, which we missed:

Records Break at NIGA Tradeshow Ribbon Cutting

By Michael WoestehoffWith the organization’s Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. presiding the ribbon cutting, he shared that over 5,500 people have registered for the convention, a record-breaking number.

“Today, we have filled the 90,000 square foot floor with over 450 world-class exhibits, who are our friends in the gaming industry and Native-owned businesses who are eager to build their brands. There is a $26 billion industry behind these doors, and we welcome you,” Stevens said.

And my photos: NIGA (Day 1)--April 3, 2012

For more on NIGA, see Pix of NIGA 2011 and Report on NIGA 2011.

IIIRM festival honors Charlie Hill

Tribal nations sustained by arts

By Carol BerryFrom the wit of Wisconsin Oneida comedian Charlie Hill to documentaries on tribal traditions to the film “Reel Injun” and analyses of Canadian Arctic policy, the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management’s Seventh Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival displayed the wealth of narrative and visual art that sustains tribal nations.

The art and films “demonstrate why it is that after decades of programs of extermination and assimilation, American Indians, Maori, and other Native peoples stubbornly persist as strong political, social and cultural entities,” said Mervyn L. Tano, IIIRM president and Jeanne M. Rubin, IIIRM general counsel and film festival director.

Hill was paid tribute by an honor song in a ceremony for his “lifetime of work promoting positive images of Native peoples and bridging cultural differences through the healing power of humor.” Among many sponsors of the honoring ceremony were the University of Colorado, Native American Rights Fund and Council of Energy Resource Tribes.

The comedian joined Neil Diamond, Canadian Cree from Waskaganish, director of “Reel Injun,” to discuss the film’s use of humor and irony as it presented non-Natives’ depictions of Natives during the film industry’s 50-year evolution toward movies that originate and are produced within the Native community.Comment:  For more on the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, see PEACE PARTY vs. Toxic Waste. For more on Native film festivals, see Blown Away at imagineNATIVE 2010 and Two Indians Talking Voted Most Popular.

Pix of NIGA 2010

Here are the photographs to go along with my reports for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of my trip to San Diego for the National Indian Gaming Association:

National Indian Gaming Association--April 7, 2010
National Indian Gaming Association--April 8, 2010
National Indian Gaming Association--April 9, 2010

Plus Joanelle Romero's NIGA photo album featuring her, Adam Beach, Victor Rocha, me, the Guess Who, and more:

Joanelle Romero's Photos--NIGA Convention April 8, 2010

Plus a pic of Victor and me with Walter Lamar.

Plus NIGA's photo album of the Wendell Chino Banquet featuring Litefoot and the Guess Who:

National Indian Gaming Association's Photos--Wendell Chino Humanitarian Award Banquet

For more on the subject, see Pix of NIGA 2009 and The Facts About Indian Gaming.

Brian Wescott, Charlie Hill, and Ishi

Film crew in Oroville working on PBS series about modern American Indian history

By Mary WestonA writer, director, several producers and a stand-up comedian have gotten together for what sounds like a sensitive, provocative and entertaining documentary about modern American Indian history.

Katahdin Productions is shooting the promotional film for "We Shall Remain, Smoke Signals and Skins" in Oroville this week.

Tuesday, Brian Wescott, writer and producer, and actor Charlie Hill talked about the upcoming PBS documentary at the Lake Oroville Visitor's Center ... while sharing knock-knock jokes.And:"So many of the stories about American Indians happened after the turn of the century, so we decided to take that as the beginning," Wescott said.

The promotional film Katahdin is shooting in Oroville revolves around Ishi, the last Yahi Indian who came into Oroville in 1911.

The film focuses on the recent repatriation of Ishi's brain from the Smithsonian Institute, and about how Ishi has touched the hearts of so many people.Comment:  "We Shall Remain, Smoke Signals and Skins" are three projects directed by Chris Eyre. I can't imagine one film with that name. It's more likely the reporter heard the names of Eyre's films and weirdly combined them.

For more on the subject, see Native Documentaries and News.