Today at work (I work in an elementary school) one of my third-grade students began to eat a Tootsie Roll Pop.
As he unwrapped the sucker, one of his classmates asked him whether he has an Indian on the wrapper. From there, the conversation progressed to what one needs on the wrapper to "win." Eventually it was agreed that the Indian should be shooting his bow at a star. I wasn't listening to the conversation long enough to understand what the kids expected to gain from an Indian wrapper, but I did understand that this "find" is important to them.
When I was a kid we had that same sort of story. I knew a few kids who collected the "Indian Wrappers." It seems that each kid had a different reason for collecting them. My understanding was that if you get five wrappers with an Indian on them, you get something. Some kids claimed that you get a free sucker each time you have an Indian wrapper. It has always been a bit unclear to me as to whom we should redeem these wrappers.
Now I am wondering whether this is some kind of urban legend. I have never heard of anyone getting anything for the Indian wrappers, yet they seem to have become a topic of conversation for generations of kids.