Brocket 99

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Brocket 99 is the name of a highly controversial underground comedy audio tape that parodies aboriginal people in Canada. The parody played on numerous aboriginal stereotypes and has been characterized as racist; nevertheless, the tape remains popular in some areas of North America. The tape included names of real people, stores and towns, further fueling the controversy.

The tape was created in 1984 by radio DJs in Lethbridge, Alberta, purportedly inspired by a clip of a parody of gay men running a radio station called "AIDS Radio". The "Brocket 99" tape was never made to be marketed and was meant only as a joke. Since its creation, it has been distributed across the globe,^{[citation needed]} and segments can be downloaded from the Internet.

The premise of the tape was a fictitious Peigan radio station broadcasting from Brocket, Alberta, on the Peigan Indian Reserve (a real reserve 70 km west of Lethbridge), hosted by a character named "Ernie Scar". It stereotypes natives as "drunken bums" and drug addicts and describes native men as bucks and native women as squaws.

[edit] Documentary

In 2005, filmmaker Nilesh Patel produced and directed a documentary called Brocket 99 — Rockin' the Country, which examined the ongoing popularity of the tape.

In June 2006, Brocket 99 - Rockin' the Country won the Sequences Award for Best Documentary at the First Peoples' Festival of Montreal. The film was also featured at the 2006 Calgary and Edmonton International Film Festivals and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.

In December 2006, Brocket 99 - Rockin' the Country made its American debut at the Anchorage International Film Festival. The film was highly regarded by the festival and the jury awarded the film a special jury award for Excellence in Filmmaking that promotes dialogue for positive social change.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Parodies

The music parts of the tape feature parodies of artists like Roxette, Bryan Adams, Michael Jackson, James Taylor, Richie Valens, Robert Palmer, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Big Bopper, Right Said Fred and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.

It should also be noted that the parody songs in question were not recored with the original Brocket 99 "Radio Show". They are added in as a "bonus feature" with most Brocket 99 CDs and cassette tapes. It is not known if the creators of the parody songs are the same people behind Brocket 99.^{[citation needed]}