[6] His Lone Ranger press biography claimed he was derived from the "Muskogee aristocracy"[6]—but the concept of European "royalty" and "aristocrats" is foreign to most Native American cultures.

The pressbook for The Lone Ranger Rides Again announced his parents as "Dark Cloud and Morning Star, aristocrats of the Muskogee tribe"[6]while his death certificate lists his father as Joseph Mahawa.

[7] Daniels worked many jobs — cowboy on cattle ranches, miner, rodeo performer, and tour guide — before he went to Hollywood to try his luck at acting.

For example, in the film "Young Buffalo Bill" (1940) he played Akuna, a renegade Native American chief who commits murder while working as a hired hand.

In the film Renegade Girl (1946), he played the main villain, Chief Whitecloud, a vengeful antagonist with a vendetta against the protagonist's family.

[8] Daniels appeared as Chief Thundercloud in the 1954 episode "The Saint's Portrait" of the syndicated anthology series Death Valley Days hosted by Stanley Andrews.

[9] One of his last appearances was on March 1, 1955, as the Apache Geronimo in the premiere of the syndicated television series Buffalo Bill, Jr..[8] According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Daniels was fined $200 and sentenced to four years of probation in 1951 after he pleaded guilty to violating the Corporate Security Act.

After working for some time as a stuntman and in bit parts, it was Daniels' portrayal of the character Tonto in the serial The Lone Ranger (1938) that was to be his legacy.