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

. 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

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. *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 ''

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'' (1985–1992), it's a nickname for MacGyver used by his friend Jack Dalton. *The song " Kemosabe", a 2013 single by Manchester band

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from their album, '' Arc''. *

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is an American record label founded by music producer

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and is owned by

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References

{{The Lone Ranger Lone Ranger Catchphrases Quotations from radio Quotations from television 1930s neologisms