Charlie Ballard talks about his life as a gay Indian comedian.
"The situation of so-called Native Americans, or American Indians as they're also sometimes known, is
quite difficult to sum up, because there are so many different tribes and each has their own problems," Ballard explains.
The majority of Indians still live in or around one of the USA's 250 existing reservations. But many of them, like Ballard himself, have moved to big cities.
Being a Native American means being poor
No matter where they live, the socio-economic situation of American Indians is usually far from rosy. Their average annual income per household is almost 50 percent below the American average. American Indians are still the ethnic group with the worst state of health, especially due to alcohol abuse, an unbalanced diet or malnutrition and insufficient health care. Because of the non-recognition of indigenous rights and their limited self-determination, many of them have to rely on state benefits, which is why the rest of the population often still perceives them as "benefit scroungers".
Which is also one of Ballard's topics. He says that the majority of people don't really know anything about the relationship between indigenous groups and the US government and that, to this day, the general state of ignorance and prejudice against American Indians is often affected by misleading information that people read in history books, or by what they see in films and on television.
In recent decades, American society's lack of understanding for Indian culture has also been seen in the destruction of sacred traditional Indian sites, disregarded in the planning of new construction projects.
Charlie tells us: "That is actually happening right now in Vallejo in California, where they're planning to build a giant amusement park on top of a sacred indigenous burial ground. People don't care about our land, our traditions and customs. If they want this amusement park so badly, why don't they build it on their own damn cemeteries and dig over their own graves to put a playground on top?"
An early coming-out
Above all else, for Charlie, being a Native American means thinking not just of himself, but keeping the well-being of the whole community in mind. That's why his role models also include many strong female American Indian activists, who fight for the right of all different genders and future generations. "I've been blessed enough to know some of these female Indian leaders and I'm always trying to follow their example.
There are still some older, traditionally minded members in our community who are determined to pass on our customs and cultural values that guide us in living together in a considerate and peaceful manner, down to the younger generations. If it wasn't for them, we'd be lost." Charlie had his coming-out at quite an early age. "I've always known that I feel attracted to men, and my parents also noticed quite early that I was gay because of my feminine behaviour. I'm just grateful to my parents for their acceptance and that I've been given a chance to live my life the way I want to. Of course there have also been members of the family who weren't exactly thrilled at the idea of me being gay, but with time and mutual understanding, things have gotten better. I didn't properly find my place as a gay American Indian until I went to board.ing school, where I met many like-minded people from different tribes. They taught me what should be the meaning and purpose in life. The most critical among the American Indian community, however, are those who most strongly experienced Christianization."
"In any case, I think that things are a lot easier for today's "Two-Spirit" generation, thanks to the Internet and social networking. We still face the same problems and challenges, like homophobia, sexism and hatred against people who are different, but we have access to a much larger community, which is just a mouse-click away."
"My success as a stand-up comedian has never suffered because I'm homosexual. If anything, I've had problems because of my often vulgar, overly direct and uncompromising manner on stage. I'm willing to accept that though, because I want to reach people and entertain them in a completely open and honest way. I want to be remembered as funny, no matter how some people choose to label me."
How about we end with his favourite punch-line?
"I don't have one, because I'm never completely satisfied with my ideas and what I write. But I can tell you this much: I do love a good dick joke, obviously!"
HARD FACTS:
Name: Charlie Ballard
Age: 37
Resident of: Oakland, California.
Ethnicity: Anishnabe of Michigan and Sac & Fox of Oklahoma
Profession: stand-up comedian
Marital status: single
