1491s

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

Their comedy sketches 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. Their over 150 YouTube videos have frequently gone viral, including their first video, the Twilight parody “New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions!!!!”; a Los Angeles Times reporter described the group's output as "dozens of videos, some crass, some cryptic, some laugh-out-loud hilarious."[1] Group member Dallas Goldtooth has cited British comedy legends Monty Python's Flying Circus as an influence.[1]

The group's name is a reference to the year 1491, the last year before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and widespread European colonization of the Americas began. They have been featured on The Daily Show,[2][3][4][5][6] and have made videos for social and legislatives issues such as full inclusion of Indigenous women in the Violence Against Women Act.[7][8] As member Bobby Wilson explains, "There’s so much expectation put on indigenous people in the arts, especially in the media. It comes from a longstanding tradition of non-Native people, most often white men, writing stories for Hollywood and the stage. We’re fighting those tropes. If they show up in our work, it’s just to lampoon them."[9]

In 2018 the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, along with New Native Theatre, co-commissioned the 1491s to write a play for their American Revolutions series of new plays about US history. The commissioned play, which premiered and received a standing ovation on April 7, 2019, is a comedy involving members of the American Indian Movement at Pine Ridge Reservation. It covers events between the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 and the Wounded Knee incident of the 1970s - hence the title, Between Two Knees.[10][9]

The group creates all of its pieces collectively.[9]