Bobby Wilson(XXI)
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Bobby "Dues" Wilson is a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota actor, writer, poet, visual artist, and comedian. Wilson is known as one of the founding members of Indian Sketch Comedy group The 1491s.
Wilson grew up in Minneapolis, MN where he and his family frequently lived out of women's shelters and homeless shelters. He began his graffiti artist, and spoken-word poetry careers as a teenager. His work is heavily influenced by his Dakota heritage with his city upbringing, and ties in commentary on colonization, racism, modern imagery of Native American peoples, homelessness, and many more issues faced by indigenous peoples today. He has since created many murals across the country and has been a featured Artist in Residence, including for the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Institute of American Indian Arts (AIAI), and Yale. Wilson now travels around the country conducting youth writers workshops, art workshops, emceeing events, and comedy performances with The 1491s. Wilson is also a skilled beader whose work has been featured in Vogue's "Meet 8 Indigenous Beaders Who Are Modernizing Their Craft".
In 2019 The Oregon Shakespeare Festival commissioned The 1491s, Wilson included, to write a play with New Native Theater titled "Between Two Knees". The story tells of familial love, loss, and connection that spans from the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, to the 1973 takeover at Wounded Knee. The play ran from April 3 - October 27, 2019.
Wilson grew up in Minneapolis, MN where he and his family frequently lived out of women's shelters and homeless shelters. He began his graffiti artist, and spoken-word poetry careers as a teenager. His work is heavily influenced by his Dakota heritage with his city upbringing, and ties in commentary on colonization, racism, modern imagery of Native American peoples, homelessness, and many more issues faced by indigenous peoples today. He has since created many murals across the country and has been a featured Artist in Residence, including for the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the Institute of American Indian Arts (AIAI), and Yale. Wilson now travels around the country conducting youth writers workshops, art workshops, emceeing events, and comedy performances with The 1491s. Wilson is also a skilled beader whose work has been featured in Vogue's "Meet 8 Indigenous Beaders Who Are Modernizing Their Craft".
In 2019 The Oregon Shakespeare Festival commissioned The 1491s, Wilson included, to write a play with New Native Theater titled "Between Two Knees". The story tells of familial love, loss, and connection that spans from the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, to the 1973 takeover at Wounded Knee. The play ran from April 3 - October 27, 2019.
