Ke-mo sah-bee (; often spelled kemo sabe, kemosabe or kimosabe) is the term used by the fictional
Native American sidekick
Tonto
Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American (either Comanche or Potawatomi) companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and tele ...
as the "
Native American" name for the
Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
in the American television and radio programs ''
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
''. Derived from , an
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
and
Potawatomi word that may mean 'he/she looks out in secret', it has been occasionally translated as 'trusty scout' (the first ''Lone Ranger'' TV episode, 1949) or 'faithful friend'.
Meaning and origin
Jim Jewell, director of ''The Lone Ranger'' from 1933 to 1939, took the phrase from Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee, a boys' camp on
Mullett Lake
Mullett Lake is a lake in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake is named after John Mullett, who, together with William A. Burt, made a federal survey of the area from 1840 to 1843. A neighboring lake was named after Burt. Hist ...
in Michigan, established by Charles W. Yeager (Jewell's father-in-law) in 1916. Yeager himself probably took the term from
Ernest Thompson Seton, one of the founders of the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
, who had given the meaning "scout runner" to ''Kee-mo-sah'-bee'' in his 1912 book ''The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore''.
Kamp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee was in an area inhabited by the
Ottawa, who speak a language that is mutually comprehensible with
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
. John D. Nichols and Earl Nyholm's ''A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe'' defines the Ojibwe word as 'he peeks' (and, in theory, 'he who peeks'), making use of the prefix , 'secretly'; Rob Malouf, now an associate professor of linguistics at
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, suggested that may indeed have also meant scout (i.e., 'one who sneaks').
In media
Tonto has been represented by the following actors:
*
John Todd in the 1933 radio show
*
Chief Thundercloud in the movies from 1938 and forward
*
Jay Silverheels
Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith; May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was an Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television s ...
in the 1950's
TV series
*
Michael Horse
Michael Horse (born Michael James Heinrich; December 21, 1949) is an American actor known for his portrayals of Native American characters in film and television.
Early life
Horse was born Michael James Heinrich near Tucson, Arizona, on Decem ...
in the 1981 film
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' is a 1981 American Western film that was directed by William A. Fraker and stars Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd.
It is based on the story of The Lone Ranger, a Western character create ...
*
Johnny Depp in the 2013
movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
Other uses
*Featured in the lyrics of "
Apache (Jump on It)", a 1981 song by
The Sugarhill Gang
The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...
.
*Featured in the lyrics of "If I Had a Boat" by
Lyle Lovett, from his
1987 album Pontiac.
*Featured in the lyrics of "The Lone Ranger", a 1976 UK hit single by
Quantum Jump.
*In the TV show ''
MacGyver
Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot.
In both p ...
'' (1985–1992), it's a nickname for MacGyver used by his friend Jack Dalton.
*The song "
Kemosabe", a 2013 single by Manchester band
Everything Everything
Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, sociopolitical lyrics, the band have released six albums to date – 2010's '' Man Alive'', 2013's '' Arc'' ...
from their album, ''
Arc''.
*
Kemosabe Records
Kemosabe Records is an American record label founded by American record producer and songwriter Dr. Luke and owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The label is based in Los Angeles, California.
History
In November 2011, Sony Music Entertainment an ...
is an American record label founded by music producer
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...
and is owned by
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
.
References
{{The Lone Ranger
Lone Ranger
Catchphrases
Quotations from radio
Quotations from television
1930s neologisms