Who was Attean?

Attean is an Indian boy around the same age as Matt. He is inscrutable and his eyes are so dark that it is impossible to read any emotion in them. Matt believes Attean to be his student but Attean knows it is the other way around and that he needs to teach this unskilled white boy how to survive in the wilderness. Attean is extremely good at hunting and tracking and like all Indians hunts for food not sport. He is enormously respectful of his heritage and the ways of the tribes, for example leaving the area already marked by the sign of the turtle tribe. He has a close bond with his grandparents and wants to make them proud. He was raised by them after his parents were killed by white men which is why he views white men with contempt and initially wants nothing to do with Matt. He comes to like and respect his new friend enormously and looks upon him as a brother.