Was Jay Silverheels a real Indian?
Yes he was. Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto on the show, was a full-blooded Mohawk Indian from the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ontario, Canada. Jay played in the entire Lone Ranger TV series as well as the two feature length motion pictures “The Lone Ranger” and “The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold.” He passed away March 5, 1980. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered over the Six Nations Reservation where he was born 62 years earlier.
