The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ is a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Jay Silverheels was a Canadian actor and athlete, descended from three Iroquois nations. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television series The Lone Ranger.
Cynthia Ann Parker, Naduah, Narua, or Preloch, was a woman who was captured, aged around nine, by a Comanche band during the Fort Parker massacre in 1836, where several of her relatives were killed. She was taken with several of her family members, including her younger brother John Richard Parker. Parker was later adopted into the tribe and had three children with a chief. Twenty-four years later she was relocated and taken captive by Texas Rangers, aged approximately 33, and unwillingly forced to separate from her sons and conform to European-American society. Her Comanche name means "was found" or "someone found" in English.
Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and television series and other presentations of the characters' adventures righting wrongs in 19th-century western United States.
Broken Arrow is a 1950 American revisionist Western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, and Debra Paget. The film is based on historical figures, but fictionalizes their story in dramatized form. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Film Promoting International Understanding. Film historians have said that the film was one of the first major Westerns since the Second World War to portray Native Americans sympathetically.
The First Battle of Adobe Walls took place between the United States Army and Native Americans. The Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache tribes drove from the battlefield a United States Expeditionary Force that was reacting to attacks on white settlers moving into the Southwest. The battle on November 25, 1864, resulted in light casualties on both sides but was one of the largest engagements fought on the Great Plains.
John Ernest Crawford was an American actor and singer. He first performed before a national audience as a Mouseketeer. At age 12, Crawford rose to prominence playing Mark McCain in the series The Rifleman, for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy Award at age 13.
Savage Sam is a 1963 American Western film sequel to Old Yeller based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Fred Gipson. Norman Tokar directed the live-action film, which was released by Walt Disney Productions on June 1, 1963. It did not enjoy the success of the original.
The Golden Boot Awards were an American acknowledgement of achievement honoring actors, actresses, and crew members who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in television and film. The award was sponsored and presented by the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Money raised at the award banquet was used to help finance various services offered by the Fund to those in the entertainment industry.
Roderic Redwing was an American trickshooter, stunt performer, and actor known for his work in Western films. He was known as a top gun, knife, tomahawk, whip, and drill instructor in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
One Little Indian is a 1973 American Western comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions starring James Garner and Vera Miles. The supporting cast includes Pat Hingle, John Doucette, Morgan Woodward, Andrew Prine, as well as a 10-year-old Jodie Foster. The film was written by Harry Spalding and directed by Bernard McEveety.
The Battle at Apache Pass is a 1952 American Western film directed by George Sherman. The stars are John Lund as United States Army Maj. Colton and Jeff Chandler repeating the role of Apache chief Cochise, whom he had played two years earlier in 20th Century Fox's Broken Arrow. Jay Silverheels also reprised his role of Geronimo from the same film.
The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold is a 1958 American Western film in Eastmancolor released by United Artists. The second of two theatrical features specifically based on and continuing the TV show The Lone Ranger it stars Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, reprising their roles from the TV series. The first feature film was 1956's The Lone Ranger. No further films based on this specific version of the characters were made after this one.
Pat Hogan was an American actor. He mostly played Native Americans over the course of his career. He portrayed Chief Red Stick in the film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955).
Overland Pacific is a 1954 American color Western film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Jock Mahoney, Peggie Castle and Adele Jergens.
Last of the Comanches is a 1953 American Western film directed by Andre de Toth and starring Broderick Crawford, Barbara Hale, Johnny Stewart and Lloyd Bridges. The film is a remake of the 1943 World War II film Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart. Lloyd Bridges appeared in both films.
The Nebraskan is a 1953 3-D American Western film directed by Fred F. Sears starring Phil Carey and Roberta Haynes. The Nebraskan was one of seven feature films from prolific director Fred Sears that were released that year.
The Indian Actors Association was formed around 1936 and was a non-profit Hollywood based organization. They formed after and were influenced by the War Paint Club, an organization meant to protect rights of Native American actors. Additionally, driven by the Hollywood practice of occasionally casting non-native actors as Native Americans in films, the Native actors working in Los Angeles at the time seized their opportunity to establish a pool of “authentic” indigenous actors to work in film.
Masterson of Kansas is a 1954 American Western film directed by William Castle and starring George Montgomery, Nancy Gates and James Griffith. It was produced by Sam Katzman for distribution for Columbia Pictures.
Return to Warbow is a 1958 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Philip Carey. The film is based on the novel Return to Warbow by Les Savage, Jr..
