Grey Owl facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grey Owl
Portrait by Yousuf Karsh, 1936
Born	Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (1888-09-18)September 18, 1888 Hastings, East Sussex, England
Died	April 13, 1938(1938-04-13) (aged 49) Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
Education	Hastings Grammar School
Occupation	Writer, Lecturer, Conservationist
Employer	Dominion Parks Service
Known for	Environmental conservation
Spouse(s)	Angele Egwuna (m. 1910) Ivy Holmes (m. 1917⁠–⁠1922) Yvonne Perrier (m. 1936)
Partner(s)	Gertrude Bernard
Children	4

Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (September 18, 1888 – April 13, 1938), known as Grey Owl, was a famous writer, speaker, and conservationist. He was born in England. Later in his life, he claimed to be half-Indigenous, saying his father was Scottish and his mother was an Apache woman. He became famous in the 1930s for his books, articles, and talks about protecting the wilderness. After he died in 1938, people learned his real identity as Archie Belaney from England. He is sometimes called one of the first "pretendians" because he pretended to be someone he was not.

As a young man, Belaney moved to Canada. He became a woodsman and trapper. Later, he became a well-known author and speaker. In the 1930s, he worked for the Dominion Parks Branch of Canada. He was called the "caretaker of park animals." He worked first at Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba and then at Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan. His ideas about protecting nature were shared in many articles, books, talks, and films. These reached people far beyond Canada. He helped everyone understand the bad effects of harming nature. He also showed the urgent need to respect the natural world. He was especially worried about the beaver (Canada's national animal). By the 1920s, beavers were almost hunted to extinction.

Grey Owl has been recognized in many ways. There are biographies and studies about him. Historic plaques honor him in England, Ontario, and Quebec. A film about his life, called Grey Owl, was directed by Richard Attenborough.

Early Life in England (1888–1906)

Archibald Stansfeld Belaney was born on September 18, 1888, in Hastings, England. He came from an upper-middle-class English family. His father was George Belaney, and his mother was Katherine "Kittie" Cox. Archie's paternal grandfather was from Scotland.

Archie's father, George, had been married before. He moved to the United States with his first wife and her younger sister, Kittie. After his first wife died, George married 15-year-old Kittie. They returned to England before Archie was born. George could not keep a steady job. He spent much of the family's money on failed businesses. He agreed to move back to the United States for good if he received a small payment. Archie stayed in England. He was raised by his father's mother, Juliana Belaney, and his father's two younger sisters, Janet Adelaide and Julia Caroline. Archie called them Aunt Ada and Aunt Carry. Aunt Ada played a very important role in Archie's early life.

Belaney went to Hastings Grammar School. He was good at subjects like English, French, and chemistry. He did not mix much with other students. He was a shy boy who felt abandoned by his parents. He often lived in his own world. Outside school, he loved to read and explore St Helen's Wood near his home. He also collected snakes and other small animals. Belaney was known for playing pranks. For example, he used his chemistry set to make small bombs. He called them "Belaney Bombs."

Belaney was fascinated by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. He read about them and drew pictures of them in his books. He made maps showing where different tribes lived in Canada. His aunt Ada was impressed by his knowledge. She was "amazed at his knowledge of the detail... He was not interested in the romantic picture of the Indians but in their mastery over nature..."

Belaney left Hastings Grammar School. He started working as a clerk in a lumber yard. On weekends, he and his friend George McCormick practiced throwing knives and shooting. He hated the job. He ended it suddenly by lowering a bag of fireworks down the company's chimney. The explosion almost destroyed the building. He was supposed to work longer in England. But he was finally allowed to move to Canada. The plan was for him to "learn to be a farmer while he was getting used to the country."

On March 29, 1906, when he was 18, Belaney boarded the ship SS Canada. He sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He arrived on April 6. He then went to Toronto. He had no plans to become a farmer. He worked for a short time in a retail shop there.

First Years in Canada (1906–1915)

Grey Owl feeding a jelly roll to a beaver

Toronto did not appeal to Belaney. In the fall of 1906, he went north. Soon after arriving at Lake Timiskaming, on the border of Ontario and Quebec, he met Bill Guppy. Guppy later remembered meeting the "decent young fellow, with such a friendly air, and so earnest about becoming a guide." The experienced woodsman took him on. He would never forget this young Englishman who had "individuality."

Belaney spent the winter of 1906–1907 with Guppy and his brothers. He learned his first lessons in trapping and woodsmanship. He had learned to play the piano as a child. This skill was helpful in the small community.

In spring, Belaney and the Guppys went to Lake Temagami by canoe. During the long trip, he carried heavy loads over difficult trails for the first time. The Guppys found summer work as guides at the new Temagami Inn on Temagami Island. Belaney had no experience. He had to work at the inn as a "chore-boy." He visited Hastings for a short time in the winter of 1907–1908. He may have asked his aunts for money. He learned then that his father had died in the United States.

Belaney returned to work at the Temagami Inn in 1908. He decided to get rid of his English accent. He began to create his story of an Indigenous childhood in Mexico and the American Southwest. At the Temagami Inn, he met Angele Egwuna. She worked there as a kitchen helper. She spoke little English, and he spoke little Ojibwe. But they became friends. Through Angele, he also met her family. They called him "gitchi-saganash" (tall Englishman). Her uncle gave him the nickname "ko-hom-see" (little owl). This name would later become "Grey Owl."

The Egwunas invited Belaney to spend the winter of 1909–1910 trapping with them. They went into the bush east of the south arm of Lake Temagami. There, he learned how the Temagami Ojibwe managed their hunting lands. They killed only the animals they needed. They left the rest to reproduce. His time with the Egwunas improved his Ojibwe language skills. He also learned the skills he needed to live and work in the bush. Belaney later said this was his "formal adoption" by the Ojibwe. The boy from Hastings was finally living the life he had dreamed of.

In the summers of 1910 and 1911, Belaney worked as a guide at Camp Keewaydin. This was an American boys’ camp on Lake Temagami. On August 23, 1910, he and Angele Egwuna were married on Bear Island in a Christian ceremony. In spring 1911, their daughter Agnes was born.

Little is known about Belaney's life in the winter of 1911–1912. He next appeared alone in the summer of 1912 in Biscotasing. He worked as a forest ranger in the area during the summers of 1912–1914. He spent the winters trapping in the bush. In Bisco, Belaney started a relationship with Marie Girard. She was a Metis woman who worked as a maid in his boarding-house. She joined him on his trapline in the winter of 1913–1914.

There is no record of Belaney's life in the winter of 1914–1915. In June 1915, he sailed for England with the Canadian Army. Marie Girard died of tuberculosis in the fall of 1915. This was shortly after giving birth to their son, John Jero.

In his first years in Canada, Belaney became a skilled woodsman. He had a deep appreciation for the wilderness.

Serving in the Canadian Army (1915–1917)

Belaney joined the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force on May 6, 1915, during the First World War. In June, he was sent to England. He was first assigned to the 23rd Reserve Battalion in Kent. He later joined the 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), also known as the Black Watch. He was sent to the front line in France, where he served as a sniper. Other soldiers believed his assumed Indigenous identity. One wrote that he "...saw him squirm up muddy hills in a way no white man could. He had all the actions and features of an Indian.... Never in all my life did I ever meet a man who was better able to hide when we would go out onto No Man’s Land."

Belaney was wounded in his right wrist on January 15, 1916. Then, on April 23, he was shot in his right foot. This was a serious injury, and he never fully recovered. He was sent back to England. Doctors had to amputate a toe. From November 1916 to March 1917, he recovered at the Canadian Military Hospital in his hometown of Hastings.

His aunts encouraged Belaney to reconnect with his childhood friend, Ivy Holmes. Ivy, then 26, was a talented professional dancer. She had traveled widely in Europe. Since he had known her since childhood, he did not pretend to be Indigenous with her. She found his stories about canoeing in Canada made the "backwoods sound terribly attractive." Belaney did not mention his wife and child back in Canada. They were married on February 10, 1917.

The couple decided Belaney would return to Canada. He would settle near Biscotasing, then send for Ivy. She "looked forward to seeing his beloved wilderness." Belaney left for Canada on September 19, 1917. Ivy never saw him again. He wrote to her for a year. He finally admitted he was already married. Ivy divorced him in 1922.

Return to Canada (1917–1925)

Belaney returned to Canada in September 1917. He was discharged from the army at the end of November. His main concern was his wounded foot. It was painful and limited his movement. This was a problem for someone who wanted to return to the bush. In October, he received treatment at a hospital in Toronto, but it did not help much. He had other worries. What about his first wife, Angele, and their daughter Agnes? What about his second wife, Ivy, still in England? What about his son, Johnny, born to his deceased partner Marie? After meeting with Angele, he returned to Biscotasing at the end of 1917, alone.

Belaney soon gained a reputation for being troublesome in Bisco. Despite this, he made a good impression on many people. One person remembered, "Archie was one of the nicest things that happened to me when I was growing up."

Belaney spent much of 1918 recovering. He slowly regained control of his right foot. But the injury stayed with him for the rest of his life. His foot sometimes swelled to twice its normal size. He did not approach Johnny, and the boy did not learn who his father was until years later. He finally told Ivy he was already married, which ended their relationship. His aunts were very upset with him.

In the summer of 1919, Belaney worked on a survey team in the bush. A co-worker said, "The 'Mexican half-breed' had an unattractive side. 'He was taciturn and morose, with a violent, almost maniacal temper.'"

His best friends in Bisco were the Espaniels. They were an Indigenous family with whom he lived in the early 1920s. He joined them for two winters of trapping at Indian Lake on the east branch of the Spanish River. Belaney also had a cabin on his hunting ground nearby at Mozhabong Lake. His Ojibwe language skills improved from this time with the Espaniels. He also learned the "Indian way of doing things." Jim Espaniel called this "the white man calls conservation."

In the summers of 1920 and 1921, he worked as the deputy forest ranger on the Mississagi Forest Reserve. He was very good at this job. He loved the wilderness. He made sure his men checked all camping sites for fire. They also worked on trails, keeping portages clear to different lakes. This allowed access in case of a fire.

Belaney was worried about the logging of Ontario's old-growth pine forests. He wanted the Mississagi area to become a park. In an early effort to protect nature, he put up signs. They said, "GOD MADE THIS COUNTRY FOR THE TREES DON’T BURN IT UP AND MAKE IT LOOK LIKE HELL" and "GOD MADE THE COUNTRY BUT MAN DESTROYED IT."

Inspired by his childhood reading, Belaney created his own "war dance." This dance surprised the local Ojibwa and Cree people. Some found it fun, while others thought it was just an excuse for drinking. Some Indigenous men joined in, while others thought the dance was wrong.

Belaney's big day came on Victoria Day, May 23, 1923. The Sudbury Star reported, "War Dance Given at Biscotasing. A Big Celebration Held on Victoria Day."

In April 1925, Belaney left Bisco for good. He returned to Temagami and reunited with Angele. She had their second daughter, Flora, in 1926. There is no record of Angele ever being angry with him. She seemed to accept his behavior. In the fall of 1925, she saw him off at the train station. She never saw him again. By then, Belaney had already started a new relationship.

Becoming Grey Owl (1925–1931)

The change of Archie Belaney from a woodsman to the famous writer and speaker Grey Owl began in 1925. His main concern, shared in books, articles, and talks, was the disappearing wilderness. He also worried about what this meant for the animals and people living there. His message was, "Remember you belong to nature, not it to you."

In late summer 1925, 36-year-old Belaney began a relationship with 19-year-old Gertrude Bernard. Their relationship lasted eleven years, until 1936. It was a very important part of Belaney's transformation. They met at Camp Wabikon on Lake Temagami, where he worked as a guide. She was of Mohawk Algonquin descent.

Her father called her "Pony." But Belaney gave her another name, "Anahareo." He got this name from "Naharrenou," the name of her great-great-grandfather, an Apache chief. Anahareo did not find out Belaney's true identity until he died in 1938.

In February 1926, Anahareo joined Belaney near Doucet in Quebec. He was working as a trapper there. In summer, Belaney proposed to her. They could not legally marry under Canadian law because he was still married to Angele Egwuna. But the chief of the Lac Simon Band of Indians declared them husband and wife.

After working as a fire ranger in Quebec, Belaney was trapping again in the winter of 1926–1927. Anahareo went with him on the trapline. She was shocked by what she saw. She had never seen the frozen bodies of animals caught in traps. She also could not watch Archie kill animals that were still alive with his axe.

Anahareo holding a beaver

She tried to make him see the pain animals suffered in traps. One story says Belaney set a trap for a mother beaver. When she was caught, he started to canoe away. The cries of the baby beavers sounded like human infants. Anahareo begged him to free the mother. But he needed the money from the beaver's fur. The next day, he rescued the baby beavers. The couple adopted them. One of them was named Jelly Roll. This event made Belaney believe it was wrong to hunt such creatures. He decided to "study them" instead of "persecuting them further."

In 1928, Belaney and Anahareo, with their adopted beavers McGinnis and McGinty, moved to southeastern Quebec. They heard there was lots of wildlife there. Their goal was to start a beaver colony. They wanted to protect and study the beavers. They arrived in Cabano in autumn. They found the area had been heavily logged and was not suitable. So, they moved to Lake Touladi, east of Lake Témiscouata. They built a cabin on Birch Lake. They spent Christmas and the rest of winter there. They found a beaver family nearby.

That winter, Belaney wrote his first article, "The Passing of the Last Frontier." It was published in 1929 under the name A.S. Belaney in the English magazine Country Life. In March 1929, Belaney received money for the article. The publisher also asked him to write a book. This book would be published in 1931 as The Men of the Last Frontier.

An unfortunate event happened. A friend, David White Stone, visited their cabin while they were away. He did not know their plans and trapped the beavers meant for the colony. Then, McGinnis and McGinty, the two adopted beavers, disappeared. The couple was very sad. David White Stone and Anahareo found two new beaver kittens. One died soon after. They adopted the surviving beaver, naming it Jelly Roll. They moved to a cabin on Hay Lake near Cabano. At the end of summer, the three moved to the nearby town of Metis. There, Belaney gave his first public talk. He moved back to Hay Lake with Jelly Roll. Anahareo and David White Stone left to work his mining claim in northern Quebec.

In 1930, Belaney published his first article for Canadian Forest and Outdoors. It was called "The Vanishing Life of the Wild." Under the name "Grey Owl," he wrote many articles for this magazine in the following years. He became more and more known in Canada and the United States. In June, he accidentally caught a beaver in a trap. He nursed it back to health and named it Rawhide. His writing connected him with Gordon Dallyn, the editor of Canadian Forest and Outdoors. Dallyn introduced him to James Harkin, the Commissioner of National Parks. In the spring, he received a visit from J.C. Campbell, the Parks Branch publicity director. The Parks Branch ordered the first beaver film, The Beaver People. It featured the two beavers, Anahareo, and Belaney (as Grey Owl). It was filmed in the summer of 1930. In November, Belaney signed himself "Grey Owl" for the first time in letters to his London publisher.

In January 1931, Belaney, as Grey Owl, gave a talk at the annual meeting of the Canadian Forestry Association in Montreal. The film was shown publicly for the first time. "The event was a huge success. It set the pattern for numerous speeches Grey Owl was to give, dressed in his Indian regalia, with films of his tame beaver to illustrate his stories."

Beaver Lodge (1931–1935)

In spring 1931, Grey Owl accepted a job offer from the Parks Branch. He would work as a conservationist at the Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. He and Anahareo, with the beavers, left Quebec. They went west for the new job. A cabin had been built for them on Beaver Lodge Lake.

In June, a second beaver film was made. This film, The Beaver Family, was shot by cameraman W. J. Oliver. It was released in 1932. Grey Owl would work with W.J. Oliver on more films in the future.

Beaver Lodge Lake was not good for the beavers. A summer drought made the water still. There was also a risk of the lake freezing to the bottom in winter. The larger waterways of Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan were better for beavers.

Grey Owl and Anahareo at cabin, Lake Ajawaan, Saskatchewan

In October, the group moved to Lake Ajawaan in the park. This place was perfect for them. It was isolated, heavily wooded, and full of wildlife. The Park Superintendent, Major J.A. Wood, had a cabin built for them based on Grey Owl's ideas. It became known as Beaver Lodge. It was Grey Owl's home until he died in 1938. Many important visitors came to the lodge. These included the Governor-General, John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, who admired Grey Owl's writings about wildlife.

In late 1931, Grey Owl's first book was published. He had been working on it for two years. It was called The Men of the Last Frontier. Grey Owl wanted the title to be "The Vanishing Frontier." But the publisher, Country Life, changed the title without asking him.

The book talks about the problems faced by beavers due to extensive trapping. It also raises concerns about the future of the Canadian wilderness and its wildlife. The demand for beaver furs in the 1920s and 30s had grown so much that beavers were almost extinct in Canada. More trappers than ever were going into the forests. Grey Owl argued that the only way to save the animal was to stop the trappers. This was very unlikely during the Great Depression. Beavers were as valuable in the north as gold was in the west. Although the book focuses on the beaver, Grey Owl also used the animal to represent all North American wildlife and the wilderness itself.

He believed that Canada's wilderness and vast open spaces made it special. These were quickly disappearing. Grey Owl also worried about how the Canadian government and logging industry were working together to use the forests. They tried to replace them with "synthetic forests." At the same time, they pretended to be preserving the forests.

In the winter of 1931–1932, Grey Owl worked on the first chapters of Tales of an Empty Cabin. This would be his last book, published in 1936. Anahareo was pregnant and stuck in the cabin. She later wrote, "All I heard from Archie that winter was the scratch, scratch of his pen, and arguments against taking a bath. Like a kid, he loathed baths." On August 23, 1932, their daughter Dawn was born.

At Beaver Lodge, the third beaver film, Strange Doings in Beaverland, was filmed by W. J. Oliver in August 1932. The cabin roof was temporarily removed for some scenes. Oliver returned in 1933 to film the fourth beaver film, Grey Owl’s Neighbours. This film showed Grey Owl with various animals, not just beavers. It also showed him welcoming visitors arriving by canoe. Oliver took many photos of Grey Owl looking "consciously Indian." These were used to promote his lecture tours. The photos also appeared in Grey Owl's books. In September 1935, Grey Owl and W. J. Oliver worked together on their final film, Pilgrims of the Wild. This film showed Grey Owl and Anahareo on a canoe trip in the bush.

From 1932 to 1934, Grey Owl wrote the autobiographical novel Pilgrims of the Wild. It was published in early 1935. Later in 1935, he finished the children's adventure story, The Adventures of Sajo and Her Beaver People.

Anahareo left Dawn with a family in Prince Albert. She went alone on trips to find minerals in the Churchill River area. Her first trip was in summer 1933. The second trip lasted a whole year, from summer 1934 to summer 1935. She traveled by canoe as far north as Wollaston Lake, 550 kilometers north of Prince Albert. Grey Owl's letters to her showed mixed feelings. He admired her independent spirit and courage. He worried about her safety. He was also a bit jealous that she could go into the bush, which his poor health and writing schedule prevented him from doing. He was also annoyed that the trip cost more than they could afford. At his request, she returned in summer 1935. She helped him get ready for his upcoming lecture tour in Great Britain and look after the beavers.

First Tour (1935–1936)

On October 17, 1935, Grey Owl arrived in Southampton, England. He came on the Empress of Britain from Montreal. This was the start of his first lecture tour in Great Britain. In four months, he gave over two hundred talks. He spoke to nearly 250,000 people. His London publisher, Lovat Dickson, organized the tour. Dickson reported, "The crowds everywhere were immense and enthusiastic."

His talk in Hastings was like others on the tour. It began with greetings. Then, he showed Pilgrims of the Wild. This film was about his life with Anahareo at Beaver Lodge. While the film played, Grey Owl moved around the stage. He told stories about Canadian wildlife, especially beavers. "He talked directly to his audience, and used no notes. His animated dialogue and his second, third and fourth films magically transported his listeners from the narrow streets of Hastings to the vast, unbroken Canadian forests."

On February 14, 1936, Grey Owl left Greenock on the Duchess of Bedford. He arrived in Halifax on the 21st.

Back at Beaver Lodge (1936–1937)

Grey Owl returned to Beaver Lodge after his very successful British tour in late winter 1936. He kept working on Tales of an Empty Cabin, which would be published later that year.

He also thought of a new project. He had seen how much the beaver films helped his lectures. He wanted to take a cameraman into the Canadian wilderness. He wanted to show what it was like to travel in the bush in winter and summer. These films, along with the beaver films, would be shown during his next tour.

In March, he presented the idea to the Parks Branch. They had paid for the five beaver films. He also spoke to important people, including the Prime Minister, Mackenzie King. But his request for money was turned down. His publishers gave him $2000 for the winter film. Grey Owl eventually paid for the summer film himself. He said, "This picture is the dream of my life, & neither Parks nor financial considerations are to stop me." The summer film was supposed to be shot in 1936. But getting the equipment, rivermen, and a new cameraman together was complicated. W. J. Oliver, who worked on previous films, was not available. So, it was postponed to summer 1937.

The Trail - Winter (1937) was filmed by B.J. (Bert) Bach in the Abitibi area, Quebec. Grey Owl had spent many winters trapping there in the 1920s.

The Trail - Summer (1937) was filmed by B. J. (Bert) Bach in the Mississagi Forest Reserve, near Biscotasing. Grey Owl had worked there for many years as a fire ranger in the 1910s.

In early August 1936, Grey Owl went to Fort Carlton, Saskatchewan. He attended a meeting of the Great Plains Indigenous peoples. It celebrated the 60th anniversary of Treaty 6. He took part in a "huge Indian dance" in "his own particular style." He spoke to the group, saying, "If there is anything I can do to help your cause, please let me know, I know a number of their important people in Ottawa and I know they will listen to me, again I thank you all."

Grey Owl's relationship with Anahareo ended in 1936. On December 7, 1936, Grey Owl married Yvonne Perrier. She was a French Canadian woman he had met in Ottawa in March. They returned to Beaver Lodge on New Year's Day, 1937.

In mid-March, the couple went to Abitibi to film the winter movie. "Yvonne proved the perfect helper for Grey Owl. Quickly she learned to snowshoe and although new to winter travelling, loved it, even the camping out in Abitibi in sub-zero temperatures." Grey Owl was not in such good shape. "By all accounts, Grey Owl was all in at the end of the day."

In early June, the couple went to Biscotasing. This was the start of a two-week canoe trip. Donald B. Smith writes, "During the arduous filming that followed on the Mississagi River, one thought sustained Archie. Life on the trail in summer would be immortalized." Even though he was exhausted, Grey Owl performed his own war dance in Bisco. It "still lacked rhythm and had no Indian words in it."

In July, the Indian Defense League of America invited Grey Owl to a yearly border crossing event. It was between Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. He was invited as "a naturalist and champion to the beauty of wild life, notably his beloved beaver." For the first time, Grey Owl, who claimed to be raised in Arizona, stepped onto what he called his native soil.

Second Tour (1937–1938)

Grey Owl's second tour included Great Britain, the United States, and Canada. He arrived in England in October 1937. His third wife, Yvonne, came with him. She was a calming influence. Donald B. Smith called the second tour his "Greatest Triumph."

Grey Owl gave a Royal Command Performance at Buckingham Palace on December 10, 1937. King George VI and the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret attended. He began with the words, "You are tired with years of civilization. I come to offer you—what? A green leaf." Grey Owl was impressed by the King. He thought the King was a "keen woodsman." It is said that when they parted, Grey Owl shook the King's hand and said, "Well, good-bye, Brother, and good luck to you."

After giving 140 lectures in Britain, Grey Owl left for New York on December 21. He arrived on New Year's Day, 1938. In the next three months, he gave 28 lectures in the United States. He also visited nine cities in Canada.

On March 26, 1938, Grey Owl appeared at a full Massey Hall in Toronto. "On that evening nearly three thousand Canadians gave him the greatest ovation of his life."

Death and Identity Revealed (1938)

Poster of Grey Owl's talk "Back to my beaver people", Massey Hall, March 26, 1938

The fast pace of the North American tour in 1938 had severely affected Grey Owl's health. To reach the Massey Hall lecture on March 26 on time, he and Yvonne had been on the train for seventeen hours. They arrived in Toronto with only two hours to spare. Despite this, he took the stage in Canada's largest concert hall. He gave the best performance of his life. "For two hours [he] enchanted everybody. He really was superb." After the lecture, they immediately boarded the Canadian Pacific transcontinental train to Regina. There, on March 29, he gave the last lecture of his life.

Exhausted and worn out, Grey Owl went back to Beaver Lodge alone on April 7. Yvonne was in the hospital in Prince Albert due to exhaustion. Very ill, he called for help three days later on April 10. He was taken to the hospital in Prince Albert. He died on April 13 at age 49. The park superintendent and friend, Major J.A. Wood, reported, "At 8.25 in the morning, he died very quietly, and pictures taken show that the congestion in his lungs [pneumonia] was very slight, which all goes to prove that he had absolutely no resistance whatever." He was buried on the ridge behind Beaver Lodge.

After his death on April 13, the North Bay Nugget newspaper published a story. They had known the truth for three years. The article claimed that Grey Owl was the Englishman Archie Belaney. It said he had no Indigenous blood. This caused a big debate. People on both sides of the Atlantic argued about his background. Archie Belaney had been so convincing as Grey Owl. After the first news about his Canadian and English past, many people did not believe the claims. His publisher, Lovat Dickson, led the fight in Britain. Major Wood led it in Canada. They wanted people to accept Grey Owl’s own story about his past. They also wanted to highlight his important work.

Lovat Dickson spent months trying to prove that Grey Owl was not an Englishman. He even asked Anahareo to come to England. He hoped she "would, or could, detect in [Archie's mother] a drop of Indian blood. Of course, there wasn't a trace." In the end, Anahareo had to accept the truth. She said, "I had the awful feeling for all those years I had been married to a ghost, that the man who now lay buried at Ajawaan was someone I had never known, and that Archie had never really existed."

The story of how a lonely boy playing "Indian" in the woods of Hastings became a skilled woodsman and trapper in Canada, and then the famous author and lecturer Grey Owl, continued to fascinate and cause discussion long after his death.

Posthumous Recognition

In 1972, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a documentary about Grey Owl. It was directed by Nancy Ryley.

In 1999, the film Grey Owl was released. It was directed by Richard Attenborough and starred Pierce Brosnan. The film received mixed reviews and was not shown in theaters in the United States.

In June 1997, the mayor of Hastings and Member of Parliament Michael Foster unveiled a plaque in his honor. It is on the house where he was born at 32 St. James Road, Hastings, East Sussex. Another plaque is on the house at 36 St. Mary's Terrace, where he grew up with his grandmother and aunts.

The Hastings Museum has an exhibit of items related to Grey Owl. It also has a copy of part of his Canadian lakeside cabin. The ranger station at Hastings Country Park has a plaque honoring Grey Owl.

In Riding Mountain National Park, the cabin where he lived for six months in 1931 has been named a Federal Heritage Building. The cabin was restored in June 2019.

In Prince Albert National Park, the cabin built in the 1930s to his designs still stands. It is open to visitors.

Grey Owl's Writings

Books

• The Men of the Last Frontier (1931)
• Pilgrims of the Wild (1935)
• The Adventures of Sajo and Her Beaver People (1935)
• Tales of an Empty Cabin (1936)
• The Tree (1937)

Collected Editions

• The collected works of Grey Owl: Three Complete and Unabridged Canadian classics. Toronto: Prospero (1999).
• A Book of Grey Owl: Selected Wildlife Stories. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada (1989).

Articles

Articles published in Canadian Forest and Outdoors with excerpts archived online.

• "King of the Beaver People" (January 1931)
• "A Day in a Hidden Town" (April 1931)
• "A Mess of Pottage" (May 1931)
• "The Perils of Woods Travel" (September 1931)
• "Indian Legends and Lore" (October 1931)
• "A Philosophy of the Wild" (December 1931)

Other articles:

• "A Description of the Fall Activities of Beaver, with some remarks on Conservation", in Harper Cory's book Grey Owl and the Beaver (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1935).

Translations

• Ambassadeur des bêtes. (Ambassador of the Beasts, was: Part 2 of Tales of an Empty Cabin) Translation by Simonne Ratel. Paris: Hatier-Boivin, 1956
• Саджо и её бобры. Перевод с английского Аллы Макаровой. Предисловие Михаила Пришвина. Москва: Детгиз, 1958
• Cаджо та її бобри. Переклад з англійської Соломії Павличко., Київ: «Веселка», 1986
• Historia opuszczonego szałasu Translation by Aleksander Dobrot [Wiktor Grosz]. Warsaw (Poland): Towarzystwo Wydawnicze "Rój" 1939
• Két kicsi hód (The Adventures of Sajo and Her Beaver People). Translated from the English by Ervin Baktay (1957); illustrations by Péter Szecskó. Hungary, Budapest: Móra Ferenc Könyvkiadó, 1957.
• Ludzie z ostatniej granicy Translation by Aleksander Dobrot [Wiktor Grosz]. Warsaw (Poland): Wydawnictwo J. Przeworskiego, 1939
• Индијанка Саџо и њени дабрићи. Translation by Виктор Финк. Illustrated by Михаило Писањук. Covers Ида Ћирић. Дечији Свет, Младо Поколеље, Београд (Belgrade, Serbia), 1967
• Oameni și animale, pelerini ai ținuturilor sălbatice. Translation into Romanian by Viorica Vizante. Iasi, Junimea, 1974
• Рассказы опустевшей хижины. Перевод и предисловие Аллы Макаровой. Художник Б.Жутовский. Москва: Молодая гвардия, 1974
• Pielgrzymi Puszczy Translation by Aleksander Dobrot [Wiktor Grosz]. Warsaw (Poland): Wydawnictwo J. Przeworskiego, 1937
• Pilgrims of the Wild. Éd. ordinaire. Translation by Jeanne Roche-Mazon. Paris: Éditions contemporaines, 1951
• Récits de la cabane abandonnée. (Part1 of Tales of an Empty Cabin) Translation by Jeanne-Roche-Mazon. Paris: Éditions contemporaines, 1951
• Sajo et ses castors (The Adventures of Sajo and Her Beaver People) Translated from the English by Charlotte and Marie-Louise Pressoir; illustrations by Pierre Le Guen. Paris: Société nouvelle des éditions G.P., 1963
• Sajon ja hänen majavainsa seikkailut Translation by J.F. Ruotsalainen. WSOY Finland 1936
• Sejdżio i jej bobry Translation by Aleksander Dobrot [Wiktor Grosz]. Warsaw (Poland): Wydawnictwo J. Przeworskiego, 1938
• Seidzo ja tema kobraste seiklused (The adventures of Sajo and her Beaver people) Translation into Estonian by E. Heinaste, Tallinn, 1967

Images for kids

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  "The Passing of the Last Frontier"

See also

• Anahareo
• Florence Ivy Mary Holmes
• Bill Guppy
• Lovat Dickson
• Passing as Indigenous Americans
• Pretendian