Agroecotettix silverheelsi Hill, 2024

The name silverheelsi is a patronym honoring Jay Silverheels, a Native American athlete and actor who most famously portrayed the fictional character Tonto in “The Lone Ranger” television series from 1949–1957. Silverheels was one of the first Native American actors to portray a major Indigenous character on a television series. Throughout his career, Silverheels advocated for more inclusion of Indigenous people in media and founded the Indian Actors Workshop in Los Angeles during the 1960’s. This naming honors Silverheels’ cultural impact and the Texas landscapes where the series was set.