#SevenThings December 17, 2022

Winter Solstice usually occurs or or about the 21st of December and is sometimes referred to as the darkest day of the year. But for many people, including Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit peoples, it signals a time when we reflect on the positives and celebrate the world getting a little brighter. With that in mind, we are dedicating this week's #seventhings to LAUGHTER!!!

First, if you have not yet taken the time to LISTEN to Thomson Highway's 2022 Massey Lecture "Laughing with the Trickster: Sex, Death, and Accordions" yet, we HIGHLY recommend it. You will both laugh until you cry, and be moved to tears, by this incredible series.

Trickster. Heyoka. Ha Hawken. Kachinas and koshares. The court jester. The Joker. DISCOVER the world of holy idiots and sacred clowns that exist to provide social satire across cultures and around the world.

And now that you've learned that holy idiots and sacred clowns exist, it's time to LEARN about the role these characters typically play in their societies.

FOLLOW Brett Mooswa on TikTok, and thank us later.

WATCH Acting Good, a sitcom set in the fictional northern Manitoba Community of Grouse Lake First Nation and based roughly on Anishinaabe comedian Paul Rabliauskas's life. This sitcom moves away from tropes and stereotypes and delivers a fresh (and hilarious) comedy series about a family that just happens to be Indigenous and just happens to live on a Reservation.

SUPPORT Canada's Indigiqueer and Two Spirit community and start going to shows, subscribing to their channels, and buying their merch. Not sure where to start? Start with Saskatchewan's Season Three Drag Race competitor Chelazon Leroux.

While you've got some time off to READ, you can pick up one of these very funny books written by some of Canada's funniest Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit writers. I suggest starting with Indians on Vacation: A Novelk by Thomas King. 

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