A lineup of Native American comedians who have written for Fox, CBS, and Showtime is heading to the Oakland Museum of California this Saturday for the fourth annual Good Medicine, a night of stand-up set outdoors in the museum's garden. Doors open at 6 p.m. on September 12, with the 90-minute comedy show starting at 7:30 p.m., and general admission runs $25.
The showcase is hosted by Jackie Keliiaa, a comedian and producer who also voices a character named Bubble on the animated series Spirit Rangers and has credits tied to Comedy Central and Netflix, according to the East Bay Times. Keliiaa was raised in Hayward and attended UC Berkeley before earning a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia University, per the KQED. She also co-wrote and executive-produced an NBC comedy pilot centered on a Native community center set in Oakland, drawn directly from her background in urban Native organizing in the East Bay, according to her own site, Jackie Comedy.
Good Medicine began as a virtual fundraiser in 2020, when Keliiaa organized it to support tribal communities hit hard by COVID-19, and it has since grown into a national touring showcase, according to Good Medicine Comedy. The show and Keliiaa's role in the broader contemporary Native comedy movement were documented in comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff's 2021 book We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy, published by Simon & Schuster.
Comics With Credits From Showtime to The Great North
This year's bill features Brian Bahe, Cheyenna Sapp, and Marc Yaffee, all appearing alongside Keliiaa for the September 12 show, according to the East Bay Times. Bahe is an enrolled member of the Tohono O'odham Nation with Hopi and Navajo heritage, writes for Fox's The Great North and the CBS series Ghosts, and received recognition from IllumiNative as a Native American comedian to watch, per Powwows.com. Bahe previously performed at a Good Medicine show, as did comedian Sage Romero, according to the East Bay Times.
Sapp, a Canadian actor and playwright who starred in CTV's Acting Good, is a Plains Cree performer from Saskatchewan's Little Pine First Nation. Yaffee, a writer and podcast host with a connection to Showtime's Goin' Native, is also on the bill.
Food, Beadwork, and Live Music Before the Show
Food for the evening comes from Wahpepah's Kitchen, an Oakland restaurant that also offers catering.
Guests may bring their own food but are not permitted to bring outside alcohol or lawn chairs, since the show includes its own drinks, including boozy beverages, according to the East Bay Times. A pre-show Native Artisan Market rounds out the evening with handcrafted art and jewelry. Live music also plays before the comedy begins.
A Garden Venue Built for Outdoor Gatherings
Good Medicine takes place at 1000 Oak St. in the museum's outdoor garden. A cafe is also mentioned in connection with the museum. According to the Oakland Museum of California, the museum was founded in 1969 as a “museum of the people” and tells the diverse stories of California's art, history, and natural sciences. The Oakland Museum of California is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt, according to the museum.
City records show that Oakland's Public Art Projects Plan funds projects through 1.5% of the budgets of City of Oakland projects. A City of Oakland memorandum dated April 2, 2021, lists $1,500,000 for Artists and Cultural Arts Funding and describes the program as providing direct grants to individual artists.
