Humor Presentation

A friend and I are putting together a presentation for counselors and therapists about humor and the healing effects of laughter. Then we decided no powerpoint but we would put together a handout for the “Healing Together With Humor” breakout session.

In one hour we can’t cover enough material, so we decided to give them a little bit extra. Humor is something that helps us stay joyful, happy and feeds our spirit. We introduce some Native American humor and some laughter yoga during this session. The group is encouraged to participate.

Samples of what may be in the handouts:

Tears and laughter are our first two medicines. We cry when we are born, that is the first medicine and when we are four or five months, we laugh. It is so good to be alive when we can laugh and cry.

Breathing is another important practice and why? When we are having anxiety or panic attacks, for practice try the following to end the attack before it starts.

Let’s try. Breathe into the count of 4, hold it to 4, breathe out to 4 and hold it to 4, and repeat. 4x4 breathing or square breathing. There are many breathing exercises and other different names for 4x4 breathing.

Laughter and tears, and breathing are all included in Laughter Yoga. I have done all three with Native American Humor also—laughed, cried with plenty of breathing.

Some Samples of Native American Humor:

Nicknames: Sometimes on different reservations and Urban areas, no one knows the individuals birth certificate name as they are only referred to by their nickname.

Those names can come from early childhood. Probably the most used nick names in my family were my sister Carrie was Corky, my brother Pat was Pockets, my brother Chuck was Chester, and Steve was known for the baby elephant walk.

One day my son called me as he is working on Solar Power installation and wanted to work with White Earth and maybe other tribes in Minnesota.

He said, “Mom, I’m not sure I should take any more of your recommendations as of the two people you recommended I talk to, one is known as Big Stink and the other is known as Fancy Pants.”

People aren’t always aware of their own nicknames as they are used in a joking way within the community. i.e. Fancy Pants

You can tell when a Native American likes you: they will joke with you and tease you.

Jokes amongst the tribes: There are lots. i.e. Red Lake will tease White Earth and Leech Lake tribes, while White Earth will tease Red Lake and Leech Lake tribes. And Leech Lake will tease Red Lake and White Earth tribes.

A few humorous to me comments from friends:

The other day I was letting a friend know that we had a bear on our porch, stealing sunflower seeds out of a container. My husband startled the bear and all that was left when he got to the door was a pile of s_ _t.

The friend responded with:

Denise so the answer to the age-old question is no they don't s_ _ t in the woods, they s _ _ t on porches! ?!

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Momma Skunk and her boys In and Out

Momma Skunk and her two boys were at the park. The boys went for a walk in the woods and got lost.

Her boy Out came back without In and she sent him back to look for In.

When they both returned Momma Skunk said, “Out, how did you find In?”

In said, “It was easy! In stinkt!”

Authors Note: This is one I heard from a friend last year or the year before.

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Here are a few others that I got from friends:

I was at the chiropractor, and I was complaining to him about everything I had experienced since I saw him a year ago. And then I brought up my memory when he said, “I know what that is, it is CRS!” Then he said, “You know what that is right?”

I looked surprised as I hadn’t heard those initials before connected to memory loss. Again, he said, “Have you heard of that?” I said no. Then he said, “It is Can’t Remember Shit!”

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My mother-in-law used to say when anything was wrong, “You know what that is don’t you? It is A G E!!

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If you go to the hardware store for milk prepare to be disappointed!

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Pigeon story:

Sitting under the tree where pigeons are frequenting and expecting not to be s--t on is not a good idea!

This was from during the pandemic:

We're doing OK here, Red Lake and the Minnesota Chippewa Tribes in Northern MN right now with COVID cases. We watch in horror as the rest of the country spikes and wonder how long before it makes its way here.

But just in case you were planning on vacationing or boating on our rivers and lakes and lands this summer, I do want to warn you that red ants and bedbugs have infested hotels/motels and all of the resorts and campgrounds across the area due to a wetter than usual spring. Mountain lions have eaten domesticated animals and some smaller people. The poison ivy has overtaken all other vegetation. We have had bear sightings at every park and in town.

Porcupines are "stabbing" small children should they dare to enter the forest. Skunks have made their way over and multiplied at unprecedented rates and wander the local roads in packs. Murder hornets!?! We’ve got SHITLOADS of murder hornets. And I’m pretty sure all private tiger owners have released them into the marshes and islands of our territory. Head lice now have wings and fly... right beside giant bats.

So stay where you are, in your own province, state or county where it's safe! Seriously, PLEASE DO NOT COME HERE...