Dakota Ray Hebert’s Comedy Album I’ll Give You an Indian Act Is a Hilarious and Much-Needed History Lesson
Photo via Twitter (@Dakota_Raymond)
Canada is not the promised land of universal healthcare and Tim Hortons that we Americans like to picture it as. Just like here, white colonizers waged a mass genocide against Indigenous Canadian people and suppressed their cultures. And just like in the States, governments provide nominal acknowledgment of these atrocities at best, at worst actively harming Indigenous communities.
Comedian Dakota Ray Hebert is all too aware of Canada’s racist history (and present), but somehow manages to educate listeners, keep us laughing, and avoid being glib on her new comedy album I’ll Give You an Indian Act, out now via Howl & Roar Records.
The Dené performer immediately grabs the listener’s attention with her distinctive and endearing voice. She does some hilarious impressions throughout the record as well, from a Canadian hillbilly to former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to an eager Scott Moe campaigner. In case these names don’t sound familiar—you’re not alone! Those who aren’t up-to-date with their Canadian politics references (myself included) have nothing to fear, though, because Hebert is funny regardless and provides enough context that the listener understands why she’s complaining about former Prime Minister John A. Macdonald (spoiler alert: he was a big ol’ racist). In fact, the whole of I’ll Give You an Indian Act is sure to send you down a Canadian Wikipedia hole.