I need your input

For many Native Americans the name "Tonto" is highly offensive. He is emblematic of so much that has been wrong with how Native Americans have been perceived. He is regarded as subservient, spoke "pidgin English", and is seen by many as performing an "Uncle Tom" type role towards his race.

I myself take a somewhat different view, though whether or not my views are valid is an open question. Authorities such as the late Vine Deloria Jr. would say no, as a white male I cannot understand what Native Americans have gone through. Certainly a great point. However, I disagree.

You see, I believe characters such as Tonto provided a useful transition from the Geronimo who with fewer than 50 warriors could shut down the Southwest and the Sitting Bull who even in death could terrorize the nation to the point where the tragedy of Wounded Knee was understandable as a need to "tame" the "uncivilized" and fearsome threat of the Native Americans.

Obviously, Tonto was not the first fictional Native American to perform that role. Thanks to Daniel Day Lewis a new generation has been introduced to at least one of the "Leatherstocking Tales", specifically, The Last of the Mohicans. Uncas traveled with Natty Bumpo, guiding him in the ways of the Native Americans, coming to his rescue...sound familiar? Uncas and, to a lesser extent, Chingachook were the template for numerous "Indian sidekicks" throughout literature.

And there was a lot of literature. There were the classics such as the Leatherstocking Tales but there were a lot of dime novels involving both real people such as Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill and so forth in fictional situations and a lot of completely fictional characters. A common theme was having the sidekick who was a Native American and helped the main character, often rescuing him. Tonto was just another step in the evolution.

However, he was different in one crucial way. Tonto was on the radio. For a long, long time. From 1933 through 1956.

Included in there was the bulk of the Great Depression, a time when millions of Americans had as their primary entertainment the "Theatre of the Mind", listening to radio. And Tonto was something new for many of them.

Tonto was a shared experience of a positive (in the context of the times) portrayal of a Native American. The Lone Ranger trusted him, relied on him, called him friend, and owed his life to Tonto. Tonto was a skilled companion who often saved the Lone Ranger's life, was the source of a great deal of intelligence in places the Lone Ranger could not go, had skills the Lone Ranger did not, and set the Lone Ranger apart.

In other words, Tonto was a shared experience for millions of Americans, including young, impressionable kids, of a Native American who embodied most if not all of the positive attributes of the hero of the piece as well.

Could the majority of Americans have gone smoothly from Geronimo to Thunderheart (1992) without the intervening of characters such as Tonto which, while very advanced for their time, would today be hopelessly backward and completely unacceptable.

So the question is simple:

Does the argument that Tonto was among the first ever "shared experiences" for millions of Americans make sense as a starting point for looking at how fictional characters altered perceptions of Native Americans or is it a flawed argument? I feel like I am overlooking something obvious but cannot put my finger on it. Thanks,