Brave Eagle

Although it only lasted a season Brave Eagle has a unique place among the fans of the western. The first television series to tell western tales from the Indian point of view. Two of the regulars were in fact American Indians.

But the lead was played by a white man Keith Larsen who was in the title role of Brave Eagle, Cheyenne chief. His wife was Kim Winona and his son Anthony Numkena both American Indians. You might remember Numkena. A few years earlier he was the little Cree Indian boy who "adopted" Mountie Tyrone Power in Pony Soldier.

Larsen's sidekick was the surviving partner of Wheeler&Woolsey, Bert Wheeler. Bert always provided a bit of comic relief and the generation of kids who watched the show had no exposure to him as half of a comedy team.

There was also a rival of Larsen's of course, a pretender to the war bonnet of chief Pat Hogan appropriately named Black Cloud because was always raining on Larsen's parade. In that testosterone driven culture Larsen always topped Hogan the way in the last century the Yankees always topped the Red Sox.

I think the show made a lot of white kids think a bit about the first inhabitants of North America. Adult type westerns like Broken Arrow, Fort Apache, and the aforementioned Pony Soldier were already doing that at the grownup level. But this show marketed for the kids made a big contribution for their education.

I think "Brave Eagle" was kind of a response to "Red Rider" and "The Lone Ranger" in addition to being inspired by the movie "Broken Arrow" in which Debra Paget played "Morning Star." "Morning Star" was the name of a regular character in "Brave Eagle." I can't find "Red Rider" listed anywhere but I remember it as a TV series with Robert Blake as "Little Beaver" who was a sidekick to Red Rider. I was only 4 years old, so I suppose my memory is a bit hazy here. "The Lone Ranger", of course, had Jay Silverheels (who is also in the film "Broken Arrow") as Tonto. "Brave Eagle" was a show which featured Native Americans as something more than comical sidekicks. Never mind that Brave Eagle was played by an actor with a Norwegian name.

Although I was just seven years old when Brave Eagle premiered on TV I have never forgotten him. Keith Larsen presented an image of a proud young Cheyenne chief who was honorable, compassionate, intelligent, strong of character, strong of body, poignant, and incredibly handsome. I was completely mesmerized by Brave Eagle and credit his television character for my lifelong respect and compassion for the Native American people. "Brave Eagle" also because a euphemism in my personal life referring to the "man of my dreams" because he had all of the best qualities in a man. Five decades later and just two weeks ago (and before I stumbled across this website tonight) I told a friend that there just weren't any "Brave Eagle's" anymore........then I had to explain who he was. It is sad that this adventuresome and wholesome series aired before nationwide broadcasting existed because it was truly a program for the whole family. Brave Eagle's character per se was truly one of a kind and has never been equaled on screen since.