Nastas

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Nastas
Biography
Gender	Male
Location	West Elizabeth
Additional info
Weapon	Cattleman Revolver

“There is no respect for the land anymore.”

–Nastas

Nastas is a supporting character featured in Red Dead Redemption.

With the addition of the Myths and Mavericks DLC pack, Nastas is also a multiplayer character model that may be selected in the "Revolution" section of the Outfitter.

Background

Nastas is a Native American. He was born and raised on a reservation, where he attended school and received a classical English education. Being familiar with both sides of the ongoing Native American conflict, Nastas is openly critical of government policy, and also, the criminal response of his fellow tribesmen joining the brutal Dutch's Gang. He is initially an informant for the Bureau of Investigation, under Edgar Ross. It can be assumed that he agreed to infiltrate the gang in an attempt to "rescue" his tribesmen from their perceived inner destruction under Van der Linde's leadership.

Interactions

Red Dead Redemption

John is told that Nastas has arranged for Dutch Van Der Linde to be present on the Wreck of the Serendipity, for John to capture. The meeting turns out to be a trap, Nastas having been beaten and tied to a chair in Van Der Linde's stead. John and Archer Fordham rescue him, escaping alongside Ross in an automobile.

Nastas is later seen reluctantly working alongside Harold MacDougal. MacDougal regularly showers Nastas with patronizing ignorance of natural sciences and native culture, while believing himself superior. During certain missions, Nastas expresses his fears for the loss of the forests, and the buffalo going extinct as well, regarding American "civilization" with resigned disdain. In his words: "There is no respect for the land anymore". John identifies with this after a long journey during which he experienced encroaching federalism and technology for himself.

Because of their conflicting worldviews, Nastas gets into constant arguments with MacDougal. MacDougal dismisses traditional cultural knowledge, with which Nastas is adept; accurately commenting on the over-hunting of Buffalo. Contrary, MacDougal argues back invoking his poor understanding of natural selection and ethnocentric attitudes. Despite his ignorance, Nastas appears to like MacDougal because "He is a good man inside". In turn MacDougal cares for Nastas, since he is visibly saddened when Nastas is killed. John appears to sympathize with Nastas, acknowledging his insight. Additionally, John appears to view Nastas with respect when he unconditionally accompanies him in an attempt to confront Van Der Linde.

Nastas is instantly killed after being shot in the head by Enepay, a member of Dutch's Gang, while being called a "traitor", during a confrontation between MacDougal and the Native American members of the gang. An enraged John immediately kills his murderers in revenge.

Epilogue

MacDougal later shows his respect for Nastas by posting a paragraph in the Blackwater Ledger noting his death, writing "May you find God, dear friend".

Undead Nightmare

He appears in the mission "Curious Tales from Blackwater".

Nastas reappears as a zombie, returning from the dead. Harold MacDougal claimed to have left his bag in his office, and while MacDougal is going to retrieve it, he is attacked by Nastas and also turns into a zombie. Both of them then proceed to try to kill John.

Mission Appearances

Red Dead Redemption

• "Bear One Another's Burdens"
• "At Home With Dutch"
• "For Purely Scientific Purposes"

Undead Nightmare

• "Curious Tales from Blackwater"

Quotes

“	For a wise man, you are a very stupid man, mister.	„
	—Nastas to Harold MacDougal

“	I think they are interested to find out what conclusions a white man has reached on hundreds of years of our culture and society from the comfort of his hotel room.	„
	—Nastas belittling Harold MacDougal's 'research' in "For Purely Scientific Purposes"

“	This is not what we agreed.	„
	—Nastas's last words

Multiplayer

• "I don't back down from nobody!"
• "Last chance to put the gun down!"
• "Come on, then!"
• "Stay and fight!"
• "I don't care who you are!"
• "You shouldn't have done this!"
• "You're making a big mistake!"

Trivia

• "Nastas" is a Navajo name which means "curve-like foxtail grass."
• Nastas says he's trying to "rescue" the natives from their "destruction." This can be a reference to how low the Native American population is today due to the devastating acts of American colonizers and pioneers. It could also be a reference to the cultural "destruction" of Native Americans via assimilation programs and "Indian Schools" promoted by the U.S. government. The Dawes Act (1891) and Burke Act (1906) encouraged this.
• Although Nastas is a Navajo name, it is more likely that he was modeled after a member of the Apache nation. He makes several comments about his tribe hunting buffalo, which were hunted by Apache and Comanche but not by the Navajo.
• If at any point in the game, the player aims a weapon at Nastas, he responds by nervously saying "You can trust me", implying that he has been treated poorly by Blackwater residents due to his race.
• Nastas is not treated well during the game, having been badly beaten up and shot in the leg on the Wreck of the Serendipity during his first appearance, cut in the arm in the caves at Nekoti Rock, and finally shot in the face at Bearclaw Camp. This poor treatment could reference the treatment of the peaceful natives at the time, especially as Nastas is killed by Enepay, a fellow Native American, who calls him a "treacherous snake."
• He shares the same voice actor as Dutch van der Linde.
• In Undead Nightmare, despite being dead, Nastas shows no signs of the grievous head wound that killed him. This is likely to allow players to identify him, as the remnants of his face would be indiscernible had Rockstar kept his gunshot wound.
• In all three missions he is featured in, he is injured; the only character this happens to. This may also be a jab at how Native Americans were treated.
• Nastas claims to have grown up and gone to school on a Reservation.
• In the artwork for Nastas' undead appearance, it appears that his left cheek is torn. The artwork also makes it look like he is missing his right eye. Neither of these show up on the in-game model of Undead Nastas.
• If Nastas witnesses Marston killing an animal during "At Home With Dutch", he will call Marston a bastard.
• Nastas is one of the few Native American characters that does not act negatively towards the player.
• In Undead Nightmare, when coming to contact with Nastas, he looks as if he was bitten around the neck and jaw part.
• After he is killed, it is possible to loot him, and he will carry four to seven dollars. This does not result in a loss of Honor or a failure of the mission.
• Nastas actually gets damaged in every mission he appears in the original Red Dead Redemption, because in his first mission he is obviously brutally beaten and shot in the leg by Dutch's Gang, in his second mission he is stabbed in the wrist by a mad miner, and in his last mission he is shot in the head and killed.

Gallery

Nastas held captive by Dutch's Gang.

Nastas is carried away by Marston.

Undead Nastas

Nastas as a Redemption Multiplayer skin.