I noticed that it was the anniversary of commemoration into the Hollywood Walk of Fame of Jay Silverheels who I would guess most people of a certain age would remember as the actor who played the part of Tonto in the cowboy series “The Lone Ranger”. He was the first Native American actor to have a star to commemorate their acting achievements. I was brought up on wold west stories, first told to me by my dad, and then in cowboy annuals I was given for Christmas and birthdays. We didn’t have a TV but I saw “The Lone Ranger” at friends’ houses, and it became iconic. It was the story of the mysterious cowboy played by Clayton Moore, who always wore a mask, riding his horse Silver to right wrongs accompanied by the faithful Tonto on his horse Scout. When I was playing cowboys and Indians – which I often did, I always wanted to be Tonto, and I would practice walking on the outside of my feet which would, so I believed, leave no footprints.
Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk, was born with the name Harold Jay Smith on the largest First Nations reserve in Canada, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage (or Six Nations of the Grand River/Réserve des Six Nations) in 1912. Like many actors of the time, he came to the profession through sport – lacrosse, and he began as a stuntman and extra in 1937, using his nickname of Jay Silverheels. He was in many films of the time, which starred all the well-known and famous actors, but it was with The Lone Ranger (who Tonto called Kemo Sahbe) that he was most associated. It ran from 1949-1957 and from that Jay played other similar roles. He was married twice and had six children, and throughout his varied life his passion was horses. He died in 1980 and I’m sure if his name was mentioned to many people growing up in the 1950’s, whether they had a TV at home or not, they would know his name!
Lois Elsden 