Scalped - Characters

Characters

Dashiell Bad Horse (Sunkawakan Sica): "Reckless, stubborn and completely out of control," Dashiell Bad Horse is a full-blooded Oglala who left the Prairie Rose reservation at the age of thirteen before returning with a vengeance 15 years later. Although happy to have left the reservation, he resents his mother for sending him away, believing she chose activist causes over the welfare of her only child. The fifteen years in between were spent on contact sports, learning Jeet Kune Do, and serving with the U.S. military in the Kosovo War before becoming an FBI agent. A fiery brawler that taps into his anger during fights, he has defeated hordes of enemies at a time, but is not the sort of man to kill in cold blood. His shaves his head and wears several earrings. His cold, withdrawn, anti-social demeanor contrasts with his propensity to start fights with little provocation or reason. Described by Special Agent Nitz as a "borderline sociopath," his motivation for returning to the reservation is at first unknown, but later revealed to be legal troubles which Nitz has promised to erase if Dashiell successfully completes his mission.

IGN ranked Dashiell Bad Horse as the 62nd greatest comic book hero of all time stating that Bad Horse shows us how dark you can go with an anti-hero to still make us root for him.

Chief Lincoln Red Crow (Kangi Sa): A bullish Lakota elder in his fifties, Red Crow's professional demeanor conceals a cold determination to elevate his Reservation beyond their dire surroundings, no matter the cost. A "big man" on the reservation with fingers in many pies, he is President of the Oglala Tribal Council, Sheriff of the Tribal Police Force and Managing Director of the Crazy Horse, his chief project since leaving the Native American Rights movement. The need to balance feuding parties with conflicting interests, as well as raising the necessary funds, has led him into a position of a local crime lord, managing his interests in drugs, prostitution and arms dealing. Publicly and privately, Red Crow is not shy about drawing attention to the overwhelming problems of the reservation, or his efforts to reduce them, statements dismissed by his critics who claim he's merely a mob boss presiding over a criminal empire feeding off the reservation.

Red Crow has unresolved romantic feelings for Gina Bad Horse, with whom he shares a history during their times as militant Native American rights activists. His estranged daughter Carol refuses to speak to him civilly, and he becomes concerned with Dashiell's obsession with her. As the series continues, his attempts at redemption are met with mixed results, idealism clashing against the cold reality of life on the Rez.

Gina Bad Horse: Dashiell's estranged mother, and a longtime activist pushing for the rights of Native Americans. With Lincoln Red Crow and Lawrence Belcourt, she participated in the ambush and murder of two FBI agents who entered the reservation one night in 1975. While she initially held the wounded agents under the gun, Red Crow took the pistol from her and was hinted to have executed them himself initially, saying that she didn't want to have the killing on her conscience. In the present time, she and her band of protesters now oppose Red Crow's plans to open the casino. Her murder drives much of the plot of the series, as it touches the lives not only of Dash and Red Crow, but of Belcourt, Catcher, Nitz, and Wade.

Diesel Engine (Britt Fillenworth): Gina Bad Horse's boyfriend/companion, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, with a reputation for violence and erratic, near-sociopathic behavior. It is often remarked (generally contemptuously) that he is white, although he reacts badly to this, claiming to be 1/16 West Texas Kickapoo. In Gina's absence, he breaks into Red Crow's office at the casino, steals something critical (which he later hands off to FBI agent Nitz), trashes the office and kills Red Crow's dogs. After a long, drawn-out fight with Dashiell he is arrested, only to escape before Red Crow and his men can take any action against him. He lived with his abusive father until he decided he wasn't going to take it anymore and setup his father to be robbed and killed. The items he stole from Red Crow have recently been revealed to be the scalps of the two murdered FBI agents. Diesel is eventually released from jail by Nitz, who plans to have him eliminated under the guise of being taken to a safehouse. Informed of this plan by Dash, he kills Nitz's assistant Newsome before being himself killed by Dash.

FBI SAC Baylis Earl Nitz: A vengeful, unscrupulous and amoral FBI Agent who was present at Dashiell's birth and had had his eye on him for some time, insisting that he be made an FBI Field Agent when it seemed his mother's record would prevent that. He is driven by a desire to see Red Crow behind bars for murder, something that has eluded him since the seventies when Red Crow and Gina got away scot free from the murder of two FBI Agents. He will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means sacrificing Dashiell. He left the two scalps of the murdered agents on their graves, rather than using them as evidence (which may have been impossible anyway, since he obtained them illegally). After his agents Newsome and Diesel are killed, he is relieved of duty, only to be restored to duty after he accidentally wipes out an entire gang of Jordanian terrorists. Given a new set of team members, he returns to his quest to take down Red Crow.

Carol Ellroy: Married to someone called Ellroy, although she doesn't much care about the fact. Probably married him (a non-Indian) just to spite her father. Pretty much exactly Dashiell's age, the two shared their first erotic experience at the age of thirteen, when she let him watch her urinate. Now that Dashiell has returned, he is repelled by her promiscuity yet attracted by her beauty. It is unclear whether she is a femme fatale or a damsel in distress. She and Dash become lovers, and she gets him hooked on drugs. But when he tells her he is FBI, she kicks him out. She eventually learns that she is pregnant with Dash's child, and tries to start a new life with Granny. But eventually she decides to abort the baby without ever telling Dash about the pregnancy. Still, Granny wants her to take her place as the reservation healer. She also forms a friendship with Dino, although her continued feelings for Dash prevent for recognizing Dino as a potential love interest.

Dino Poor Bear: A young man struggling to make a living on the reservation. He encounters Dashiell at a meth lab which Dashiell is shutting down. Poor Bear wants a better life for himself and his daughter, and would like to leave the reservation. He works as a janitor for the Crazy Horse casino and eventually gets money from Red Crow to fix up his car. He is eventually pressed back into a life of crime as a drug-delivery boy. When Carol moves in with him and Granny, he begins to think that she could be his girlfriend; he even turns in his friends after discovering they are responsible for the hit-and-run death of a reservation girl. He uses the reward money to buy Carol a pair of earrings she liked, but when she continues to talk about her feelings for Dash, he tosses the earrings. It is implied by Catcher that Dino will be taking a dark and violent path.

Catcher (Arthur Pendergrass): A man of Red Crow's generation; he was present when the federal agents died, but he has never said a word about his role in the murders. Upon seeing Gina, whom he had loved his entire life, kiss Red Crow passionately he snaps and kills the two agents, who were being held at gunpoint. Years later, when confronted by an angry Gina, he kills and scalps her, possibly to prevent being turned in for the crime. He makes up for it by talking to himself (or, rather, his horse named Festus) as present events progress, providing us with a running commentary. His reactions to other characters are particularly insightful, as he believes he can see their spirit animals. (His own totem is an owl.) When Officer Falls Down realizes his guilt, he kidnaps him and puts him through a tortuous "spiritual" test, which Falls Down passes with the help of Gina's spirit. Catcher then visits Dash and gives him the choice to save Officer Falls Down or find Gina's killer; Catcher hopes Dash will choose well, but Dash chooses to find the killer, and does not realize from Catcher's words that Catcher is himself the killer. Catcher shoots at Dash in the truck, but just at that moment Dash swerves to avoid hitting Officer Falls Down (still handcuffed and blindfolded and stumbling through the woods); Dash and Cather shoot at each other. Catcher escapes, while Dash and Officer Falls Down find Festus and get back to the reservation.

Shunka (Uday Sartana): Chief Red Crow's bodyguard and closest associate. In a two-part arc focusing on Shunka, it is revealed that he is a closeted homosexual who has to deal with widespread homophobia in his line of work, including from Red Crow himself. Shunka is distrustful of Dash and their rivalry heats up as the series progresses. Though he is always referred to his nickname, which is "dog" in Lakota, his mostly unknown real name suggests he was born elsewhere.

Officer Franklin Falls Down: The single straight cop on the rez. He was assigned to cover Gina's murder and may be getting more information than he expected as he begins to investigate. His wife, Sherry, was killed in a car accident by Parker Louvin, a notorious alcoholic on the rez. He talks with Belcourt and eventually finds Catcher's trailer, where he realizes Catcher is the killer. Catcher kidnaps him and puts him through a tortuous trial, which Falls Down passes with the help of Gina's spirit.

Agnes "Granny" Poor Bear (Iyotiyemato): The eldest of the Poor Bear family, this old woman seems to be the only source of true guidance on the Rez. Skilled in the old medicine, she offers spiritual counseling to many of the characters. Though she has no biological children of her own, she has fostered several, and continues to take care of the Poor Bear family. Her totem is a huge bear, one of the very few "strong" totems that have been revealed. She has taken Carol in to her home, and has asked her to be her successor on the reservation.

The Dog Soldiers: The Native American activist group on the Oglala Reservation in the 1970s. Named after the famous warriors of Crazy Horse, they fought the Federal government for the rights of the indigenous people of America. Members included Lincoln Red Crow, Gina Bad Horse, Catcher, Lawrence Belcourt, and Reginald Standing Rock.

Reginald Standing Rock: One of the activists on the rez back in the day, he was suspected of being an informant for the FBI. Red Crow confronted him alone and although Reggie didn't confirm his status, he didn't deny it. Standing Rock was Red Crow's first murder victim—he choked Standing Rock for 11 minutes. Standing Rock's status as an informant is debated still by members of the Rez, including his wife, who denies it. It is later revealed that Gina's husband (Dash's father) Wade was the FBI agent, although no one else in the story knows this.

Lawrence Belcourt: A Dog Soldier who was present the night the two FBI agents were murdered. Although Belcourt barely participated, he was convicted of the crime when others were acquitted. He is serving life in a Federal prison, where he is under the protection of an African-American prison gang. Red Crow pays for this service until Belcourt tells him about his last conversation with Gina and tells him he no longer needs his protection. Belcourt physically resemble Leonard Pelltier.

Mr. Brass: A member of the Hmong's criminal organization sent by Johnny Tongue to ensure the security of his investment, the Crazy Horse Casino. An older man with visible scars and missing his left arm, no doubt from his shady dealings. Does not like to ask questions twice and punishes his captives through extreme torture. He is a sadist who is not a stranger to using murder or rape to get what he wants. He was incarcerated by Red Crow as a hostage, until Red Crow assassinated him as a way of getting back at the Hmongs.

Sheriff Wooster T. Karnow: The sheriff of neighboring White Haven, Nebraska. Claims to have played for the Cornhuskers and been a member of a special forces group but has a propensity for gross exaggeration. Doesn't care about the methamphetamine being run out the rez so long as it doesn't affect his liquor sales. After a U.S. Marshal demonstrates Karnow's incompetence, Karnow begins to crack down on Red Crow's criminal side activities.

Wesley Willeford: An African American con man and card counter who used many aliases. He was taking down Red Crow's casino when he was spotted and thrown out. As he was leaving, he recognized Dashiell as an FBI agent—Dashiell once busted him—and blackmailed him into helping set up the casino for a robbery. The robbery went bad and Willeford died, along with the other members of the gang he put together for the robbery. Before setting up the robbery, Willeford murdered an Indian stripper to conceal his identity. Falls Down is researching that murder, too. Willeford accidentally dies of an overdose after being stuck with a needle of poisoned drugs intended for Dash.

Wade: Dash's father, whom Gina kicked out during Dash's childhood but who returns when he hears of Gina's death. Wade is shown to have miraculously survived numerous deadly scrapes in Vietnam, and for that reason he was recruited by two of his war colleagues to be the FBI's mole in the Dog Soldiers. Dash brushes off Wade's return to the reservation, but agrees to work with him to discover the identity of Gina's murderer; however, before they can meet, Wade is picked up by Nitz and imprisoned on false pretenses in order to keep him away from Dash.