"Native American comedian Charlie Hill says he's living the American dream.

Actually, make that the "indigenous dream," which he prefers to call it.

In many ways, Hill's comedy is about how native people weren't even allowed to have an American dream. Hill, from the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin, quips in one of his routines: "We used to be from New York. We had a little real estate problem."

Hill made his TV debut on The Richard Pryor Show in the 1970s, and has been on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show. While he may not be very well known to the general public, to Native Americans, he's a hero."

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Native American Comic Living The 'Indigenous Dream' (NPR 6/21)