Native comedian entertains in Akwesasne

Following a business symposium at the Wolf Clan/LJ’s Banquet Hall Friday evening, a Native American comedian entertained two crowds with racially-appropriate humor.

Jim Ruel, an Ojibwe native from Milwaukee, brought laughter from two separate crowds. Ruel started with his best, most-used jokes and impressions, adding in a few he wrote just for a northern crowd, telling a few stories about his own life.

Ruel makes fun of his own life as a ‘City Native” where he says he spent more time stalking people than hunting animals.

Ruel’s heritage buys him an easy crowd in Native communities, where his jokes about Christopher Columbus and Thanksgiving are appreciated.

“People always ask if we celebrate Thanksgiving and I say yes, we call it ‘You’re Welcome Day,” Ruel joked.

By the end of the show the material became “adult only” and the audience learned more about the stand-up comedian than they expected to.

The event was sponsored by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Office of Economic Development. The business symposium was meant to bring minds together for business learning and discussion, while also promoting the Comprehensive Community Development Plan.

For more on Ruel, visit his Myspace page at

http://www.myspace.com/nativecomic .