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KRISZTINA Kopó For Keesic, the realization is that his culture has been lost, since the language has disappeared, the sweatlodge as well, there is no tribal warfare, no warriors, and Dreamer’s Rock, a sacred and spiritual place, has been turned into a touristic attraction. Communication, however, is the key to finding their answers as they slowly comprehend that “those who don’t remember the past are condemned to relive it.”° Keesic, then, is the past and with it the Native heritage that Rusty and Michael must “relive” and grasp. Rusty and Michael must come to understand that culture, language and heritage, hence their Native identity, is not lost after all, because “we still exist. Changed, but Odawa.””° And the reason they have met on Dreamer’s Rock is because this is “part of the land, part of Mother Earth. [...] The land is the basis for everything. We have survived not just on the land, but with it.””' Therefore, Taylor’s underlying humor and the Dickensian formula of linking pastpresent-future also functions effectively here in directing Rusty back to his roots, heritage and ultimately his identity. CONCLUSION The concept of identity is a fluid term that incorporates many perspectives which outline specific human features and historical associations. Native theater provides an outlet for Native storytelling through humor, and as presented in the article offers both the Native and non-native audiences a glimpse of contemporary Indigenous transcultural identity. With the use of humor, Native comedians and writers awaken their people to persistent stereotypes and the major social-political issues prevailing within their own communities. Native humor is thus an inherent entity in Native cultural history and an essential element of cultural survival. The four plays by Drew Hayden Taylor that were analyzed within the scope of this article are experiments within the Blues and the Gothic genres highlighting the notion that both comedy and serious drama work well within this dramatic range. Major themes that were elaborated show that there is a constant movement, shifting and even mix-up between Native culture and the dominant forms of culture. However, this progress does not necessarily entail a one-way development, but rather a bi-directional tendency in which some cultural identities are incorporated into the everyday lives of the Indigenous peoples, while there is also a tendency to move toward a pure and clear vision of Native heritage and identity. What Taylor conclusively offers in his plays through the scope of humor is the importance of maintaining both cultures consciously 69 Ibid., 42-43. 70 Tbid., 69. 7 Tbid., 70. + 306 +
