We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy

This was a really cool book; I wasn't sure what I was expecting at first and I think I was thrown off that Nesteroff is non-Native but he leaves plenty of space for Indigenous people to tell their own history, and I think this is a really really accessible way to approach Indigenous history, especially if you are already interested in histories of comedy but don't know much about Indigenous history after Wounded Knee (the first one.)

It's a great blend of that history and also telling the stories of contemporary Native comedians, both more visible ones like the 1491s and Joey Clift, and comedians who are not as famous (or at least were not as immediately familiar to me, a non-Native person.) I think it could be a really great gift for show more folks who are into comedy, and I honestly might use some of it in teaching; the parts about Will Rogers in particular I learned quite a bit about just how political his actual comedy was. Definitely recommend! show less

What a fascinating read.

This is non-fiction and chronicles the almost non-existant history of Native American comedians. It also showcases up and comers.

Yet, it is so, so much more. I am an IOTA Menominee and thought I "understood" the Indian culture to a point. After all, my family regularly went to the Rez when I was a kid. I have been to pow wows. I am proud of my heritage.

Well, I quickly learned how ignorant and blinded I truly am.

It's a real eye opener. A history lesson; a Current Events lesson; and great, funny stories all rolled into an extremely well written book.

This is not a funny book, but it is very good. The book interweaves stories of old and current Native American comedians in a way that keeps you interested. It mixes older Native American history in general with the history of Native American comedy in the early 1900s up through the present. It opened my eyes to more of the very recent atrocities the U.S. and Canadian governments have committed against Native Americans. Some of the worst things were the residential schools where Native Americans children were taken from their parents and forced into horrible boarding schools in an attempt to eradicate their cultures.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S WE HAD A LITTLE REAL ESTATE PROBLEM ABOUT?
This book sketches a broad history—roughly from the end of the 19th Century to the present—of Native Americans in comedy. He starts with things like wild west shows and circuses—where people like P. T. Barnum presented "authentic Indian" practices, but would define what was authentic for the people who'd do the performing, and would punish them if they did anything actually authentic. So right away, you know this is going to be a feel-good story.

In the early days of Movies and TV, it's not much better for most—Indians were stereotyped and usually played by Whites. Sure, you'd get occasional people like Will Rogers as the show more exception. Nesteroff chronicles the struggles for representation from then up to "Iron Eyes" Cody (and beyond, I'm sure).

Then he sketches out the bright spots for Native Americans in the contemporary comedy scene, from stand-up to theater to TV writing. Nesteroff spent a lot of time on Charlie Hill's life, career, and legacy—who made a lot of the contemporary advances possible. Frankly, he could've spent more time on it and kept me interested (although what he gave was sufficient). His interactions with Richard Pryor was fascinating.

Interspersed with the history are brief profiles of individual comedians/teams and their careers. So it's not just a history of the industry, but we get spotlights on individuals, too. They were definitely the highlights of the book for me.

HOW FUNNY WAS IT?
Nesteroff kept the narration restrained—he's a stand-up, so I'm sure his instincts were to perform (at least) a bit more than he did. But he read it the same way you'd read a book about productivity. I'd think that would be particularly difficult when he read a transcript or script from a comedy piece/interview. But even then—the material shone through and I found myself audibly chuckling frequently. Funny stuff is funny (would've been funnier in the original, I'm sure, but getting permissions necessary to do that would've made this audiobook too expensive to produce).

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT WE HAD A LITTLE REAL ESTATE PROBLEM?
I heard Marc Maron talk about this book a little on his podcast (but I haven't gotten around to any of the episodes with the author), and it seemed like it'd be up my alley. I love hearing about the business of comedy and the people that are behind it. Focusing on this one story? Sounded like a great idea. And I think Nesteroff pulled it off.

I guess I would think as a history, it's probably incomplete—but I'm not sure how you can do a comprehensive history of something like this.

I think the central premise of this—media depictions of Native Americans makes them conform too much to a stolid, serious, stoic type—or a tragic one. It's hard to believe that encompasses any culture—much less the great number of Native American cultures in North America. To promote understanding between cultures in the US and Canada, we ought to see all aspects of them.

The profiles—either brief or extended (like Charlie Hill and Will Rogers)—were interesting enough to make me go check out samples (and sometimes more) of the work. The overall narrative was interesting and optimistic.

I think the book worked—if you're at all interested in the behind-the-scenes of comedy, about those who make the movies/shows/stand-up you enjoy, you'll probably think so, too. show less

This history of of Native American comedians stretches from Buffalo Bill's wild west show through vaudeville, radio, and network television all the way up to YouTube videos by the 1491s and other contemporary acts. Traditional biographical profiles of pioneers Will Rogers and Charlie Hill are broken up over several chapters and interspersed between oral histories from lesser known figures from the 20th century through today.

For being about comedy, the first half of the book is actually a little dry and humorless though still fascinating, but things pick up with the introduction of Hill, the many people he inspired, and the jokes they were telling. Be prepared to rush to YouTube to search for routines from the many people mentioned and show more interviewed. show less

Very absorbing. I wasn't sure I had enough interest for this many pages of comedy history, but it's very much also a cultural history and full of interesting people I didn't know, or didn't know well enough. I enjoyed reading a section or two at a time.

Best for:
Those with an interest in the history of comedy; those interested in the ways that US and Canadian popular culture have excluded groups, specifically Native Americans / Indigenous people.

In a nutshell:
Author Neteroff provides a comprehensive history of Native American comedy interspersed with vignettes about modern-day Native American comedians.

Why I chose it:
A cannonballer reviewed it and it sounded so interesting.

Review:
I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I think it might be one of the few cases where reading it as an audio book might have harmed it - for example, I didn’t realize until maybe 1/4 of the way through that the chapters were set up as sort of an alternating straight time line of the history of comedy show more and chapters about modern comedians. It felt super disjointed and a bit hard to follow until that clicked.

That said, the information in this book is interesting and pretty much all of it was new to me. The racism and lack of opportunities is not surprising, but I’ve been completely ignorant of the plight of Native American comedians - I’m not really ‘in’ to stand-up comedy, though I am a fan a few comedians (Hannah Gadsby springs to mind). I’m not totally unaware of the challenges that people who are not white men (or white women, to a lesser extent) face when seeking out their careers in places like Saturday Night Live, but I appreciate how the Native American experience is unique in this area.

I do wish this were written by a Native American writer or comedian, as I think they would be able to provide even more cultural context, though Neteroff clearly has done loads of research.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
If it weren’t an audio book I’d donate it. show less