Howie Miller bridges cultures with comedy
Cree comic Howie Miller remembers the first time he made people laugh.
It was in Grade 3 when he had to write a short autobiography and present it to the class.
"I remember I was looking in the dictionary for the word 'debonair'," he said. "I didn't really know what it was but I thought it sounded really cool and no one else would have written it down."
Miller said he liked catching people off guard and getting a reaction from them, especially laughter. That and the fact that as a cross-cultural adoptee and the only Native person in his south Edmonton neighbourhood, he was used to standing out.
Miller was fostered at six months old from the Paul First Nation in Alberta, and ultimately, adopted by his German foster parents.
"They encouraged my heritage. My mom was always taking me to Native events, buying me books and whatnot and showing me the beauty of the culture."
After a string of odd jobs, including working as a firefighter in B.C. and at a car wash in Edmonton, Miller made the jump onto the stage.
Supporting a family of four in his early 20s, Miller said he had to find a job he could get good at and make a lot of money quickly.
"I thought I would have a little niche of 'Hey look at this Native guy, he can do a Sean Connery impression isn't that kinda wacky?'"
Miller, who still lives in Edmonton, has been performing for 20 years but when he started, there weren't a lot of other Native comics. But he said that is changing as more and more Indigenous people find their voice, or in this case, their laughter.
"Everyone thinks we sit around the fire with our arms crossed and talking about 'white man come and take away…' No, no, no, we sit around telling jokes," he laughed.
"It's so encouraging and it warms my heart when I see young comedians take the stage."