Grey Owl

Grey Owl was the name British-born Archibald Belaney (September 18, 1888 – April 13, 1938) chose for himself when he started pretending to be a First Nations person. While he achieved fame as a conservationist during his life, after his death the revelation of his non-Native origins and other autobiographical fabrications negatively affected his reputation. Born in England and migrating to Canada in the first decade of the 20th century, Belaney rose to prominence as a notable author, lecturer, and one of the "most effective apostles of the wilderness". The pivotal moment of departure for his early conservation work was when he began his relationship with a young Iroquois woman named Gertrude Bernard, who assisted in his transition from trapper to conservationist. In working with the National Parks Branch, Grey Owl became the subject of many films, and was established as the "'caretaker of park animals' at Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba" in 1931. Together with his numerous articles, books, films and lectures, his views on conservation reached audiences beyond the borders of Canada, challenging people to re-evaluate their relationship with nature. His conservation views largely focused on humans' negative impact on nature through their commodification of nature's resources for profits, and a need for humans to develop a respect for the natural world. Recognition has included biographies, a historic plaque at his birthplace, and a 1999 biopic about his life by the director Richard Attenborough.