heres why Johnny Depp has a dead bird on his head

Despite a wide variety of idiotic theories (like this Marilyn Manson one), Johnny Depp now says that he owes his look as Tonto in the upcoming Lone Ranger movie to a painting of a Crow Indian. And the fact that he saw it wrong. EW says…

“I’d actually seen a painting by an artist named Kirby Sattler, and I looked at the face of this warrior and thought: That’s it.’
“It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior’s head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top. I thought: Tonto’s got a bird on his head. It’s his spirit guide in a way. It’s dead to others, but it’s not dead to him. It’s very much alive.”

So is this still supposed to be a respectful look at Native American spirituality? Because the hero takes advice from a dead bird on his head. Even Chief Wahoo of the Cleavland Indians would think that’s kinda racist.