I’ve discovered her true roots:
The Hekawi tribe and tribal members
The Hekawi tribe supposedly derived their name from an incident in which the tribe became lost, exclaiming “Where the heck are we?”, which then became “We’re the Hekawi” The original name for the tribe, ‘Fugawi’, was to be changed after the censors discovered the sentence “Where the Fugawi?”[1] They are partners in O’Rourke Enterprises and produce most of the company’s products. They are a peace-loving tribe, (mainly due to cowardice). The chicken-hearted braves of the Hekawis, “the tribe that invented the peace pipe”, are “lovers, not fighters”, according to their leader. Agarn has to teach them how to do a war dance. They have a 50/50 deal with O’Rourke and have a still which produces the whiskey for the saloon. As a sly jest based on the myth that Native Americans are the 13th tribe of Israel, many of the Hekawi Indians were played by veteran Yiddish comedians using classic Yiddish shtick. The regular “Indian” characters (none of whom were played by Native American actors) include:
Chief Wild Eagle (Frank DeKova) – the shrewd, cranky but essentially good-natured leader of the Hekawi tribe, and business partner in the illegal O’Rourke Enterprises scheme. Like all the Indian characters portrayed in F Troop, he speaks in a Burlesque-Indian, broken English dialect. Often O’Rourke, Agarn, Parmenter, and Jane come to him for advice when they have a problem. Wild Eagle has an old Indian saying for every occasion, which even he sometimes admits he does not know the meaning of. He is portrayed as being the brother-in-law of Sitting Bull and the cousin of Geronimo. Wild Eagle once said that the peaceful Hekawis originally lived in Massachusetts, until the Pilgrims arrived and “ruined the neighborhood”. DeKova’s contribution to the series was deemed so important that, beginning in the second season, he is listed in the opening credits.
Crazy Cat (Don Diamond) – Chief Wild Eagle’s assistant and heir apparent. He often speculates on when he will become chief, and is subsequently rebuked by Chief Wild Eagle. He is not a featured character until the second season. “Craze” (as O’Rourke and Agarn sometimes call him) does become “acting chief” in an episode titled, “Our Brave in F Troop” (when O’Rourke and Agarn have to somehow sneak Wild Eagle into Fort Courage to see the army dentist so he can get his tooth pulled). Crazy Cat humorously comments on the situation, “When Wild Eagle away, Crazy Cat play.”
I first heard that joke many moons ago from a full-blooded Winnebago Indian. He totally sucked me in, until he relayed the punch line.
Chief Wild Eagle: “Then come big day. Tribe fall over cliff. Medicine man turn to chief and say “Where the heck are we”.”
Corporal Eagarn: “You know what your tribe needs? Another cliff.”