Humor plays a major role in the play “ The Rez Sisters”, by Tomson Highway ( Fifth House, 1998). Humor is used within the play to handle trauma or hardships, to tease one another, and to push past, as well as break, stereotypes. Thus humor is what cultivates, shapes and shifts Aboriginal identity, playing a vital part in who they are.

First, humor is a coping mechanism to avoid and push aside problems. It can also provide an output to talk about touchy subject matter, in a more uplifting way and as a result, further helps to release any tension one might have. Overall bringing people together and is they key to the strengthening of bonds within the play. For instance, using humor to deal with violence helps provide an understanding to …show more content…
This helps shapes Native identity because when humor is directed towards someone else it can go too far and hurt, offend, or degrade the other person. Within the play for instance Zhaboonigan states, “ Zhaboonigan. Everyone calls me Zhaboonigan. Why? It means needle. Zhaboonigan going through-thing.Needle Perterson.” (Act I , 48). Zhaboonigan is giving an insight to the audience to how teasing went too far, “Zhaboonigan” may derive from simple teasing and joking around, however Zhaboonigan shows how offended, as well as insulted, it has made her feel. Not to mention when dug deeper, this nickname roots back to a horrific past experience of when she was raped, so therefore just ‘teasing’ was alot more. It not only shaped her identity, it also reflects back to the people who have given her this nickname. Furthermore humor can not only be directed towards someone else, it can be an indirect way to brings one's self down. For instance Annie does so within the play, stating “ Aw these white guys. They’re nicer to their women. Not like Indian guys. Screw you, drink all your money and leave you flat on your ass.” ( Act Ⅲ,86). This may not seem comical, nor a form of teasing, Annie in reality though is bringing herself down and makes this statement humorous, using a darker form of humor. This is done so because she is stating how she feels while still managing to get a laugh from the audience through swearing, thus …show more content…
For example, the Narrator describes the scene of Pelajia and Philomena fixing the roof at the beginning of the play, describing Philomena as such, “ She is very well dressed, with a skirt, nylons, even heels, completely impractical for the roof. ( ActⅠ,2). This is showing an example of how humor can shift past stereotypes, because Philomenas attire comes off as comical, due to the ridiculous it reflects, especially within this scenario. Philomena by dressing this way, portrays what those stereotypes are, such as the sexiest views upon women which lead society to be put expectations on women to be feminine, lady-like, and unfit to do a man's job, all of which Philomena embodies. Therefore overall symbolizing the standards and expectations put upon women, while displaying at the same time the ridiculousness within them. Furthermore humor can be a way to break past stereotypes even when directed towards harsher subject matter. Not only providing an insight to what those stereotypes are, however as well as showing how society should view them. Pelajia gives an example to this within the play, “ Bullshit! If that useless old chief of ours was a women, we’d see a few things get done around here” ( ActⅡ ,114). Pelajia is as a result, showing through this quote, that a woman would fulfill the role of chief much more