Bear Smallhill

**Bear Smallhill** is one of the Reservation Dogs.

## History

### Stealing the Chip Truck and Memorial for Daniel

Bear, along with Elora, Willie Jack, and Cheese, watched as a truck driver left his truck to make a delivery. While he was inside, the four of them stole the truck and drove away in it. While Elora drove and Bear rode in the wrong, Willie Jack and Cheese rode in the back, where they failed to pull in the ramp before Elora took off. They drove the truck to the salvage yard, where they sold it to Kenny Boy, who sold them all the chips inside for a dollar.

They sold the chips in Bear's front yard. While they were selling the chips, they noticed three teens watching them from across the street. While they were collecting the money they'd made, Big drove up and asked if they knew anything about a chip truck that was stolen in town. They all pretended they didn't know anything about it. He told them about a recent increase in crime and listed several things they'd done. He also tried to scare them by mentioning that the Deer Lady had been spotted in the area recently.

Once they finished selling their chips, they decided to grab a bite to eat at Rob-n-Cleo's. On the way, Elora said she believed they'd be able to relocate to California in two months, which surprised them. While they were walking, a car drove up beside them, carrying the same teens who had been watching them. Those teens pulled out their guns and began shooting paintballs at the four of them, then said that street was their territory. Once of their paintballs knocked Bear unconscious.

While Bear was out, he had a vision of William "Spirit" Knifeman, who asked Bear what he and his friends were doing to help their people.

When Bear woke up, Mose and Mekko rode up and told them the new teens were calling themselves the NDN Mafia, consisting of Jackie, her cousins Bone Thug Dog and Weeze, and their friend White Steve. Mose and Mekko had told the NDN Mafia that the four of them were the Reservation Bandits, the toughest in town. They warned the four of them to be careful.

At Rob-n-Cleo's, they ordered catfish. After their food was delivered, they overheard Miles, a truck driver, talking to Rob about how his truck had been stolen. As a result, he'd been fired and his wife left him.

On their way back to the hideout, Bear said he felt bad for what they did to the driver and wanted to get the truck back to give it back to him. Willie Jack and Elora didn't feel bad and got mad that Bear did. Elora stormed off after saying they didn't owe anyone in that town anything.

The next day, Elora gave Bear her share of the money to buy the truck back from Kenny Boy. Unfortunately, they learned that Kenny Boy had already stripped it.

The four of them held a memorial for Daniel to mark one year since his death. As they left the memorial, the NDN Mafia drove buy, showing that they'd stolen copper that the four of them were planning to steal. They walked home and Mose and Mekko warned them that the NDN Mafia was after rhyme and they'd given the four of them a new name: The Reservation Dogs. Elora wanted to gather the money they had saved and leave right away, but Bear said he didn't want to let Jackie and her crew chase them out of town. He wanted them to become vigilantes.

### Going to the Clinic

Bear was walking around when the NDN Mafia surrounded him, knocked him to the ground, and kicked him. Bear had another vision of the Spirit, telling him he should have run and also telling him to go to the clinic because his nose was messed up. Bear went to the clinic with the other Rez Dogs so Willie Jack could sell her meat pies. While they set up, he said he was going inside to get his nose checked. Bear went inside and signed in with Bev. He was frustrated to find that they didn't have his information despite having been to the clinic before, but because his address didn't match, they couldn't access his records. He struggled, but was able to come up with the address the clinic had. While he waited to be seen, Bear went to see Leon to get fighting tips. Leon told him to stop blocking punches with his face. Bear then saw that Leon had a picture of Daniel on the wall. Leon told him he could take it because he could just print another copy.

Back in the clinic, Bear finally got called back to a room, where Dr. Kang examined him and told him he'd be fine with some ibuprofen for the pain. Bear went back outside and found that Willie Jack had made $50. The NDN Mafia then pulled up and the two groups went head to head, goading each other, until Rita broke it up.

### Learning from Brownie

Elora, Willie Jack, and Bear decided to go find Elora's Uncle Brownie to teach them to fight. On their way, they found a deer that had been hit by a car and loaded it into the trunk to make backstrap. Then they drove out to Uncle Brownie's place in the woods to find him. Willie Jack also had a bag of Jackie's hair and hoped to get Brownie to put a curse on Jackie with it. They were immediately creeped out by Brownie's place and when he spotted them, he told them to leave because it wasn't safe for children to be there. They reluctantly started to leave, but stopped when he celebrated after finding a jar he'd previously buried. He told them it was weed he'd buried fifteen years prior. He agreed to give them some fighting tips in exchange for them driving him around town to sell his weed. They did so, but no one was interested in buying it. Finally, he realized he knew who would want it. He had the kids take him to the bar where he'd knocked out twenty people and one cop in two minutes. They were not happy to see him initially and told them that it was actually thirty people and two cops. But when Brownie offered them the weed and Elora sweetened the deal with some backstrap, they welcomed him back in.

### Wellness Fair

Bear learned that his father was coming back to Oklahoma for the anti-diabetes Wellness Fair, so he recruited the other Rez Dogs to help him get things ready to see his dad again. At the grocery store, he sent each of them to get a different thing.

Bear wanted to get his father a gift, so they went next to Auntie B, who does beadwork. She offered him a steep discount because he was Willie Jack's friend. None of the pieces were what he was looking for, so he asked if she could make him a new one. She agreed, but charged an extra $50 for the rush job, which irritated Elora. Bear promised he'd make the money back.

The next morning, they picked up the medallion and were surprised to see how phallic it looked, a trend among her work. Bear took it anyway and continued to prepare for his father's visit. When Punkin didn't show up and lied about why, Bear and Rita ended up back at their home, watching Godzilla with the other Rez Dogs.

### Tornado

On the day the Rez Dogs were planning to leave for California, Spirit appeared to Bear and implied that Bear had unfinished business in town before he could leave. Bear asked if he was implying they should fight the NDN Mafia and he said he wasn't implying anything.

Later, Bear was walking with the other Rez Dogs when Brownie approached them on a lawn mower. He told them a tornado was coming and he could get rid of it if he had an ax. They didn't believe him, so he left, saying they were wasting his time. They went to the hideout, where they counted the money one last time and Willie Jack said she was not going. Elora got angry, but Willie Jack said they were still friends and gave them her share of the money to help them. Bear then told the others about Spirit saying he had unfinished business and how he thought it meant they needed to fight the NDN Mafia.

They found the NDN Mafia and the two groups started taunting each other until Cheese pointed out a tornado approaching. They paused for a moment and went back to their taunting until hail started falling, forcing them to run to the church to seek shelter in the basement. In the basement, Bear worried because his mother wasn't there and he couldn't reach her by phone. When he realized Elora had left the basement, he asked where she'd gone and learned she'd gone upstairs with Jackie. Bear watched the two of them talk from a distance and Spirit appeared to him again, saying maybe he didn't mean for them to fight the NDN Mafia.

Back in the basement, Bear confronted Elora over her talking to Jackie and she became upset that he was spying on her. She told him she was talking to Jackie to get more money for California. They argued over money, with her saying he was always spending it and leaving her to clean up and he said she should just go to California herself. Cheese then announced that he wasn't going to California either. After the storm cleared, Elora stormed off by herself, leaving the other three to say goodbye to each other. Willie Jack asked Bear to send her pictures of the ocean.

Bear went home and was relieved to find his mom there. She said she'd make dinner and they could eat it at the table. The next day, Elora and Jackie left for California together, leaving Bear behind.

### Reversing the Curse

Bear was walking to the hideout when he passed Daniel's house and saw it up for rent. Spirit appeared to him and told him he needed to start taking responsibility for himself. He told Spirit he was trying, then he continued to the hideout with Willie Jack and Cheese. When they arrived, they found someone had purchase it and was turning it into a megachurch. Willie Jack believed the curse she'd had put on Jackie was coming back on her, so they went to Brownie's place to get his help. Brownie told them to go back to the person who put on the curse in the first place. They did, but the white wizard also told them he wouldn't help. They went back to Auntie B to get more of Jackie's hair, but she refused and denied giving them hair in the first place, as she had customers with her. As they left, Bucky pulled up bedside them and gave them copper figurines to carry, then offered his help. They just needed to get something that belonged to Jackie. They went to the IHS to see if Jackie's aunt Bev would give them anything, but she refused to help. As they continued on, Bear had Bucky pull over and got out. He told Willie Jack he supported her, but couldn't help her.

Bear decided he needed to find a job. He asked Mose and Mekko if they knew anyone who was hiring. They said they were, but couldn't pay him, so he walked away. He went to Rob-n-Cleo's the next day to get catfish and look through the classifieds. He told Rob and Cleo they should give him a job because of how much catfish he ate. They said no because of how much the Rez Dogs had stolen. Instead, he should volunteer there once a week to make up for it. Miles then came in with a chip delivery and Bear clammed up because he still believed he had destroyed Miles' life by stealing the chip truck. Miles admitted that they hadn't really ruined his life and they all knew all along that the Rez Dogs had stolen the truck. They hadn't reported them because they decided they didn't need more young people in jail. They told Bear to consider it his one big break and start building things up instead of tearing them down. Miles then had Bear help unload his truck as a thank you. As he worked, Bear asked if Miles was hiring, but Miles said he wouldn't hire a thief.

### New Job

Bear got a job working as a roofer. His mother bought him a tool belt, which he tried to distress to avoid getting picked on for having a sparkling new belt. He was working on this when Charley and Marc Don picked him up. They drove to the job site and told Bear to copy what they did when he didn't know what to do. He struggled to carry the supplies they carried easily.

Up on the roof, Bear was surprised to see Danny working on the other side. He asked why Danny didn't work with them and they told him Danny preferred to work alone. They then said they were missing the board stretcher and couldn't finish the job without it. They sent Bear to find it and told him not to return until he had it.

Bear searched the truck, but didn't find anything. He asked Danny about it and learned they were messing with him and there was really no such thing. Bear went back on the roof and got back to work. When a box of shingles started sliding, Bear went after it. Danny caught him before he could fall off and warned him not to chase something that was already falling. Marc Don and Charley then set up things to show Bear how to nail down support boards. Bear hesitated and they said to think about something that made him made. He tried, but then said he had to go pee.

In the port-a-potty, Bear complained to Spirit that they expected him to know things without actually teaching him anything. Spirit said that was the Native way to teach. He also told Bear he needed to get over his resentment of Danny.

The four of them ate lunch together and Bear remarked that Danny would know when he said that all dads were bad. Marc Don told him that he needed to let a man make mistakes because that's how they learn. Just like Bear was walking on the roof without a safety board.

They sent Bear to work with Danny on the other side of the roof and he showed Bear how to line up the shingles and nail them down. Danny asked about Elora and Bear told him she'd gone to California, which was Daniel's dream. Danny had promised to take him, but never had the money to do so. Nothing had been the same since Daniel died. Danny told Bear it wasn't his fault and the adults around Daniel had been the ones to fail him. As they prepared to quit for the day, the two of them saw a figure floating nearby. They watched it until it disappeared.

Marc Don and Charley dropped Bear off, handing him his payment for the day, which he happily accepted. Bear went inside and told his mom he'd pay the electric bill that month. He went back to his room, where he was surprised to find Elora knocking on his window. He yelled at her for leaving until she stopped him and told him her grandma was dying.

### Mabel's Death

Bear came to Mabel's house along with many others to support Elora while Mabel died. When Bear took a plate of food out back, Spirit came to him and said that he needed to be there to help Elora.

As night settled in, Bear fell asleep on the couch, slumped into Jackie. The next morning, Bear woke up as he heard singing. He watched as Elora walked out of the house, saying she needed air because Mabel had just died.

### Party

Bear's mom left for the IHS conference. She told him to call Leon if something happened. He told her not to worry, that he was just going to put his feet up and rest. However, as soon as she was gone, Bear threw a party.

### NARDS Youth Summit

As penance for throwing the party, Rita made Bear help her set up for the NARDS Youth Summit. Then she forced him to stay for it, saying she'd also invited his friends.

Bear was paired with Jackie to do a potato dance as they held a potato between their foreheads. They bickered as they danced, but ended up winning the challenge, earning themselves the rest of the sack of potatoes.

Bear was then paired with Elora and blindfolded so she could guide him through a maze. Him not following her directions properly led to an argument between them. The arguing continued until they crossed the finish line. Elora asked Bear if they were good and Bear said he didn't know.

After the summit was over, Elora asked Cheese and Bear if they'd seen Jackie, as Jackie was her ride home. They argued over Jackie leaving, with Bear saying that Willie Jack didn't know and Elora defending Jackie. Bear was also angry that Elora still hadn't apologized to him. He told her she'd end up like Mabel, along until was too late. She told him he was living in kid drama and couldn't see outside himself. She told him she was sorry she hurt him, but not sorry she left him. Then she walked away, telling him not to talk to her for a while.

### Cheese's Arrest

Bear and Willie Jack were outside his house selling Flaming Flamers when Jackie rode up on her bike and told them Cheese had been arrested. After Willie Jack and Jackie made things right between them, they went together to go get Elora.

The four of them then went to the group home where Cheese was staying and Elora distracted Gene at the front door while the others went around the side to talk to Cheese through a window. They tried to get him to escape with them, but he told them to find another way to get him out.

After Grandma Irene was named Cheese's new legal guardian and he was released from the group home to move into her house, they all welcomed him home with "Free Cheese" shirts.

### Midstreamers

Willie Jack, Bear, Elora, and Cheese were eating catfish and watching TV when a news report came on about the Midstreamers, who fornicated with catfish. All four of them were put off their food.

### Daniel's Letter

Willie Jack invited her friends over and cooked for them. They sat in silence until Willie Jack told them she'd visited Hokti and she got her advice for how to fix them. Bear and Elora immediately claimed that everything was fine between them, but Cheese and Willie Jack knew that wasn't true. She told them about Daniel's letter and said she wanted to read it with them. They passed it around and read it to themselves. When they were finished, they decided to fulfill Daniel's dream together, because he couldn't.

### Trip to California

With the decision made, The Rez Dogs, with Jackie's help, went to steal Mabel's car back form the scrapyard. Kenny Boy interrupted them, but let them have the car anyway. They packed up the car and left for California. They were all excited to fulfill Daniel's dream for him. They thought about what they would do when they got to the ocean and Bear suggested putting Daniel's letter in, because it was like a piece of Daniel and he'd alway wanted to go to the ocean.

Over the next few days, they made their way across the country to California. With only a few miles left, they stopped at a taco place and got food. When they went to pay, Bear realized they left the money in the car. Willie Jack went to get it, but found the car missing. While they stood outside in the empty lot and discussed what to do, White Jesus found them and said he'd take them to the ocean. Instead, he led them to an encampment and promised to take him to the ocean in the morning. They decided to stay and sleep in shifts, which they did until the cops came and forced them to leave.

They decided to continue their walk on their own. They were delighted when they finally heard the sounds of the ocean in the distance, which encouraged them to walk the final stretch. Once on the beach, they looked out into the ocean for a moment and then walked toward the water. Elora held back, saying she didn't want to say goodbye to Daniel. Bear corrected that they were only saying goodbye to the pain. They all walked into the water together. Cheese said a prayer and they held each other, imagining Daniel standing with them. Then Cheese asked what they should do next. Elora said she wanted to find her car because she had to take it back to Kenny Boy's. Willie Jack said she had an uncle at a rez nearby who could probably help. Bear then said he wasn't going back to Oklahoma.

### Solo Journey

While they were in LA, Bear insisted on going to see Punkin to give him the beadwork even after Punkin didn't answer his phone call. He was surprised when a woman answered the door and said that Punkin had left to go on tour, leaving the woman alone with two kids, presumably Bear's half-siblings. He left the beadwork with the woman along with a note telling Punkin that for once, he was the one who decided to disappear instead of Punkin. After leaving Punkin's, they found White Jesus again and waited with him while Teenie traveled to Los Angeles to pick them up.

Teenie got them on a bus to Amarillo, where they were meant to transfer to Okern. While they were waiting, Bear went to the bathroom. In the bathroom, Spirit came to him and told him not to get on the bus, that his journey was taking him somewhere else. Bear said he'd done everything that Spirit asked and he was done with that, but unfortunately, the conversation delayed Bear enough that he missed the bus. He tried to get them to turn the bus around, but the bus worker refused and he didn't have the money to buy a ticket for the next day's bus. Bear yelled at Spirit for making him miss the bus, but Spirit said he had a chance to go on a journey, though Bear wasn't interested in that. He started walking in the direction Spirit pointed.

As he walked, Bear was confronted by a conquistador. Spirit appeared and got the conquistador to leave, but Bear was frustrated with Spirit's vague statements and told him to leave. Spirit agreed to leave if that's what Bear really wanted and Bear said he did. They left in opposite directions and Bear soon after was hit in the neck with a dart that knocked him out.

When Bear woke up, he was blindfolded and tied to a chair. Maximus removed the blindfold and gave him water. When Bear said he was from Okern, Maximus thought that "they" had finally found him as he was from Okern. Maximus then took Bear and showed him around the property. They went to a greenhouse where Maximus tended to eggplants for the Star People and then to another building where Maximus showed him a video of himself when he was young as well as some old friends of his whom Bear knew from back home.

Maximus showed Bear a tunnel and said that if anything happened, it would take Bear directly to the highway. After dark, Maximus talked to Bear about the indigenous names for star clusters. Then Maximus made dinner and told Bear about his life as they ate. He said that he didn't like most people, but felt he and Bear were kindred spirits. He said Bear could stay for as long as he liked and tend the land with him.

The next morning, Bear woke the sounds of Maximus calling out on the radio. No one responded and Bear went back to sleep. When he woke again, he heard cars outside. Maximus saw people in gray clothes approaching and told Bear he needed to go. Bear looked out and saw cops and said he'd tell them Maximus didn't do anything. Maximus was insistent and packed a bag, which he gave to Bear before telling him to leave. Bear told Maximus that he believed him, which Maximus thanked him for. Then Bear watched through the window as Maximus went outside and allowed the cops to put him in the back of a car. Once he was gone, Bear took the keys and drove the dune buggy to the greenhouse, where he put eggplants in his bag, and then drove to the tunnel. He went through the tunnel and then started walking down the road.

Bear ended up at a diner, where Deer Lady invited him to have pie with her. When he saw who she was, he was scared, but she just asked him if he was a good man. He said he tried to be and she said he reminded her of a boy she once knew. He told her he was surprised she was real as he had believed she was just a story they told to keep the Uncles in line. She said some men needed more than stories and those were the ones she visited. When he told her he was lost, she offered him to drive home, but said she needed to make a stop on the way.

At a house, Deer Lady told Bear to wait in the car while she went inside. He took the chance to charge his phone and then called his mom. He apologized and told his mom he really had gotten lost and would be home soon and would explain everything to her. When Deer Lady came back covered in blood, he asked if she was okay. She said she was and drove him home.

As she dropped Bear off, Bear asked if she killed someone at the house and she told him she'd killed a human wolf. She told him he'd be okay and not to worry about being like his dad because his mom had seen to that. She also told him to keep smiling because they can't take that away from him. As she drove off, Mose and Mekko pulled up and ask Bear if that was his new girlfriend and didn't believe him when he told them it was Deer Lady.

### Punishment

Bear and the other Rez Dogs were gathered at the IHS to be punished for leaving without telling anyone they were leaving. Rita was also upset that Bear wouldn't tell her how he got home as she didn't believe that Deer Lady brought him. Bear and Jackie were assigned to sweep and mop the floors. While they worked, Bear told Jackie what had happened to him, but she also didn't believe him. After they'd all finished their work, they left together to go to Sonic.

### Cheese's Withdrawal

Bear, Willie Jack, and Elora became concerned when Cheese started making excuses through his grandma not to hang out with them. When they went to get him one day and were told he was sick, they asked Irene to tell him they missed him. Later that day, Cheese called them from his camping trip and had them join.

### Rita's Promotion

Bear came home from work early one day because they'd finished a roof and Marc Don gave them the day off before starting the next one. He was surprised when Rita also came home early and told her he wanted to try making a recipe he'd seen on TikTok. That night, he was surprised when Rita came into his room and slept in his bed.

The next day, Bear decided to try the recipe a second time as he'd messed up the first attempt. Rita then stopped him and asked him about California, specifically how he and his friends had said goodbye to Daniel.

### Retrieving Maximus

When Fixico collapsed and had a heart attack at Elder Breakfast, Willie Jack went to the other teens and proposed they go get Fixico's estranged cousin out of the psychiatric hospital where he was staying. They got a bus from Kenny Boy and took off for Tulsa where they executed their plan to distract the staff and sneak him out. Bear and Willie went into the hospital together to find Maximus and bring him out. When they found him, they were surprised to learn he was the same person that Bear had met on his trip home. He initially didn't want to go with them because he didn't want to make up with Fixico, but agreed to go and said they didn't need to bust him out because he was free to leave at any time. They asked him to pretend anyway and he did. They got him back out to the bus and left. On the way home, the bus started smoking and Kenny Boy told everyone to get off. They did and just as they were off, the bus burst into flames. When they got home, Maximus and Fixico were reunited at Fixico's bedside. When Big found out what they'd done, he brought them all in for interrogations, though he didn't believe Willie Jack when she told him the truth. At the end of the day, Kenny Boy took full responsibility and claimed the kids weren't even there.

### Elora's College Application

Bear and the other Rez Dogs went to University of Oklahoma to support Elora while she filled out paperwork and met with admissions to learn her options for going to school. When Debbie told Elora she needed her father's financial information to get financial aid, they all suggested she just go look for him. After thinking about it, Elora decided to do that.

### Fixico's Funeral

When Old Man Fixico died, Bear was one of the many who came to mourn him. He helped dig the grave. He stepped away from the grave digging to relieve himself and ended up calling for Spirit. He said he hadn't seen Spirit in a while, which Spirit reminded him was because Bear had asked him to leave. Bear asked for more advice, but Spirit said he didn't have anything to tell Bear. He said Bear had already learned the most important lesson, that it was better to be part of a community that helps each other than to be a leader all the time. Bear thanked Spirit and said he'd decided to take a year off, stay in Okern, and figure things out. Bear then returned to the funeral.

After the funeral, Bear and Jackie helped Rita pack her things to move for her new job.

## Personality

He is the unofficial leader of the group, Bear has a nervous energy about him. He sometimes fumbles through situations, always towards good, but even with success he sometimes gets there in unorthodox ways.

## Relationships

### Familial

Bear's father left when he was young, leaving him to be raised by his mother, Rita.

## Notes and Trivia

* When he was a freshman, his dream was to be a rapper like his dad.

## Appearances

 **#02** | "NDN Clinic"
 **#03** | "Uncle Brownie"

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 BUSSIN', 3x01
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Friday, 3x04
3. ↑ F\*ckin' Rez Dogs, 1x01
4. ↑ NDN Clinic, 1x02
5. ↑ Uncle Brownie, 1x03
6. ↑ What About Your Dad, 1x04
7. ↑ Satvrday, 1x08
8. ↑ The Curse, 2x01
9. ↑ Run, 2x02
10. ↑ Roofing, 2x03
11. ↑ Mabel, 2x04
12. ↑ Wide Net, 2x05
13. ↑ Decolonativization, 2x06
14. ↑ Stay Gold Cheesy Boy, 2x07
15. ↑ This is Where the Plot Thickens, 2x08
16. ↑ Offerings, 2x09
17. ↑ I Still Believe, 2x10
18. ↑ Maximus, 3x02
19. ↑ Deer Lady, 3x03
20. ↑ Frankfurter Sandwich, 3x06
21. ↑ Wahoo!, 3x07
22. ↑ Send It, 3x08
23. ↑ Elora's Dad, 3x09
24. ↑ Dig, 3x10
25. ↑ Offerings, 2x09