His maternal great grandfather Joao Capistrano da Silva Mota (b. • São Domingos, Capim, Para, Brazil – d. • Boa Vista, Brazil ) (7), also known as “Coronel Mota” of Rio Branco, was a well known administrator and philanthropist in the Rio Branco and Manaus areas of the Amazon, and a notable champion of education of the indigenous tribes in the area around Rio Branco. He was married to Ana Cecilia Costa da Souza , and although perhaps conjectural, many historical researchers believe that one or both her parents were at least part native Amazonian.(8) He is notably cited in the book ‘Esploração na Guiana Brasileira’ written by the American explorer-scientist Hamilton Rice, in 1927; included in this book is a photo of “Cor. Mota” with the children at a school he supported in Manaus; in northern Brazil there are hospitals, streets and schools bearing his name.

On Basil’s paternal English side, the Heath family as well as the Southey family, were dealers of leather, saddle makers, and coach makers with a recorded presence in London dating back to the 1400s. The Southey family moved out of London in the 1840s and established a presence as saddlers in Brighton through the 1880s. The Sussex Penfold family were prominent yeoman farmers in Angering, Sussex with records going back to the 1400s (15), and surviving wills and extant documents link the family to the daughter of a landless Norman knight and a yeoman farmer in the area around Lyminster.

Basil’s other maternal great grandfather, Alexandre Paulo de Brito Amorim (b 15 Oct 1831• Arcos de Valdevez, Viana do Castelo, Portugal – d. 20 Jun 1881• Manaus, Brazil) (9), emigrated to Brazil at the age of 18. After first establishing a business in Manaus, he then started the commercial trading firm Amorim & Irmao with his brother Antonio, and was then appointed the First Consul of Portugal for the Amazon in 1851 at only age 22 (10). Several years later, he started the first steamship company ( Companhia Fluvial do Alio Amazonas ) to provide commercial service along the Amazon, Rio Branco, and Rio Negro rivers, and eventually established a shipping company partnership going between Liverpool and Manaus each week (11). In 1858 de Brito Amorim married Amalia Maria (Brandāo) de Amorim , the daughter of the prominent Portuguese settler, Antonio José Brandão , who was a survivor of the Manaquiri massacre (12), and of Lina Ferreira , the granddaughter of the Manu Chief, Comadre of Mariu (13). Both Amalia and her father are mentioned in the book by Alfred Russell Wallace who stayed with and interviewed Antonio shortly before his death (14), providing a vivid description of him and his knowledge. Alexander Paulo de Brito Amorim received many honors during his lifetime, including the Commander of the Order of the Knights of Christ, conferred upon him by Emperor Dom Pedro II. he also constructed the Palacete Provincial (Provincial Palace) in Manaus for his family but died before he could live in it; it now houses several museums within its walls.

Growing up during the Depression as the eldest in the family by 7 years, was something which profoundly affected Basil. After his father lost his job as well as their home during the Depression, Basil was obliged at age 14 to go to work part-time to help support the family. The family moved to Dagenham from Kensington, and his memories of this time were bleak and something which stayed with him his entire life. Basil was taught boxing by his father who was adamant about physical fitness for all his children. He became quite good at it and was known on the amateur boxing circuit.

Shortly after his mother’s death in January 1935 (2), Basil and his father joined forces as traveling salesmen with the younger siblings being placed in a Catholic orphanage in Sussex. Reunited in Dagenham in 1939, the older children were readjusting to life together when the east end of London with its factories and industries was specifically targeted in crippling bombing raids. Their home sustained major damage during the Blitz, and Andrew moved the family once more to a new home in Romford.

In 1944, Basil married Marie Madden of Romford, Essex (16), and two daughters were born. Although his profession was as a professional welder, Basil found that he also had a penchant for acting and a love of risk-taking. According to his sister Sylvia, his love of daring and lack of fear of heights led him to work on many building projects, becoming adept at testing for security measures for workers. In 1950, he traveled to Canada (17) ostensibly to obtain work; his immigration form lists his profession as “welder”. It was in Canada that he worked with welders of the Mohawk tribe. He became friendly with them and was fascinated by the Native American culture, customs and history. One of his friends who was a member of the Mohawk tribe introduced him to his own father who allegedly adopted him into the tribe.

His family was unsure of what exactly triggered his love of Native American culture and customs but they think that it may have been twofold: during his childhood, he was fascinated by the stories he read in penny novels about American Indians, and also, when he hit the road as a traveling salesman with his father during the Depression, his father may have convinced him to turn his eye to a career in Hollywood. Like several other actors in Hollywood who were able to parlay Mediterranean looks into an acting career as Native Americans, Basil eventually travelled to Hollywood where he found parts first as a stuntman, then playing Native Americans in the movies, and eventually on television. From 1956-1963, he played Chief White Eagle on WTTWs “Totem Club”, also taking bit parts in films when he could. One of his nieces who spoke with him shortly before his death said : “[that] he probably crossed the ocean intending to be an actor in the movies. He would not have thought that inhabiting a role and honing his skills was dishonest. Seemingly he grew slowly into taking the role seriously, and along the way, created a rationale for [his being an American Indian as he was of Amazonian descent] being fundamentally truthful if not [exactly] accurate in the details.”

After leaving the WTTW show, he traveled the entire country for the rest of his life talking to school children, giving lectures, and promoting the customs, history and culture of Native Americans, fighting for recognition and pride for the people who had adopted him. And on 13 Jun 2004, Basil married Roberta Hannaway Bear in Fulton County, Indiana.

One of his nieces stated, “he evolved through the course of his life from entertainer, and someone who loved the Indians, and he took it all seriously, and wanted no more than to serve the people with whom he had found acceptance. I don’t think the show business side of his life negates the serious side.” His family remembers him saying that the Indians always seemed to be the bad guys in film, and he felt he needed to balance out the negativity by showing people the richness of the Native American culture and history.

Basil passed away in 2011 and was survived by a sister and brother, his surviving daughter, two grandchildren, five nieces and a nephew, seventeen great nieces and nephews, and eleven great-great nieces and nephews. His parents, daughter Lorraine Sonja (Heath) Buckle, sisters Margaret Valerie Peterson and Sylvia Mary F. Schroeder, half-brother Andrew Cleve Heath, Jr., former wife Marie Madden Heath, and three nieces predeceased him. His second wife Roberta “Bobbie Bear” Hannaway died in 2017 and was survived by her adopted son “Kenny Lone Eagle”.

Basil and Bobbie are both remembered for their contributions to Native American culture and history, as well as their generous spirits. Bobbie’s beautiful Native American dolls representing historical figures have been exhibited around the US and been displayed in museums across the United States.