Grey Owl (Writer)

    Grey Owl or Archibald Stansfeld Belaney was born in September 18, 1888, near Hastings, England and died in April 13, 1938 at Prince Albert hospital. Born to George Belaney and his wife Katherine (Kittie) Cox, Archie was mostly of English descent on both sides; his paternal grandfather had come from Scotland and married in England.

    Kittie was his father's second wife. Years before Archie's birth, George Belaney had immigrated to the United States with his then-wife Elizabeth Cox and her younger sister Katherine (Kittie). After Elizabeth's early death, George persuaded Kittie, not yet 20, to marry him. Within the year they returned to England in time for the birth of their son Archie. The family lived together near Hastings until Kittie became pregnant for a second time. The father and Kittie left to return to the United States, where he abandoned her.

    Belaney later told his publisher his father was Scots. The Belaney name does have roots in Scotland. One of his biographers documented that Archie's paternal grandfather had moved from Scotland to England, where he became a successful merchant.
    The Belaney boy attended Hastings Grammar School, where he excelled in subjects such as English, French and Chemistry. While outside school, he spent much time reading, or exploring St Helen's Wood near his home.

    As a boy, Belaney was known for pranks, such as using his Grammar School chemistry to make small bombs. He called them “Belaney Bombs”. Fascinated by American Indians, Belaney read about them and drew them in the margins of his books. Belaney left Hastings Grammar School and started work as a clerk with a lumber company located behind St. Helen's Wood .

     There Belaney and his friend George McCormick perfected the arts of knife throwing and marksmanship. Belaney turned his creativity to pursuits other than work. His last event there was lowering fireworks down the chimney of the lumber company's office. The works exploded and nearly destroyed the building. After the lumberyard fired him, Belaney's aunts let him move to Canada, where he sought adventure. On March 29, 1906 Belaney boarded the SS. Canada and sailed for Halifax.

    Belaney emigrated ostensibly to study agriculture. After a brief time in Toronto, he moved to Temagami (Tema-Augama), Northern Ontario, where he worked as a fur trapper. Fascinated with the Anishinaabe Ojibwe, he set about learning their language and lore. On August 23, 1910, he married Angele Egwuna, an Ojjibwa woman from whom he learned much about the people. They started life together in a tent on Bear Island (Lake Temagami). Soon Angele gave birth to their daughter Agnes. Angele's uncle called Belaney "Little Owl", because he watched everything carefully. Belaney claimed he was adopted by the tribe and given a name meaning "Grey Owl".

    Belaney worked as a trapper, wilderness guide, and forest ranger. At first he began to sign his name as "Grey Owl". Then he created a full-blown Native identity, telling people that he was the child of a Scottish father and Apache mother. He claimed to have emigrated from the U.S. to join the Ojibwa in Canada.

    Belaney enlisted with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force (CEF) on May 6, 1915 during World War I. His Regimental number with the CEF was 415259. On his attestation papers, he claimed to be born in Montreal on Sept 18, 1888, and listed no next of kin, however when asked about his marital status, it appears some confusion may have taken place as the word 'yes' was written, and then crossed out, then the word 'no' was written, and then crossed out ultimately not clearly answering the question, leaving his marital status unclear to the military at the time of enlistment. He stated his trade was a 'trapper', and that he previously served as a 'Mexican Scout' with the 28th Dragoons, although this is unclear since the U.S. was not in any significant military actions in the region (other than small operations, to which he could not have served, he would have had to serve between 1904 and 1915). Belaney joined the 13th (Montreal) Battalion of the Black Watch. His unit was shipped to France, where he served as a sniper. His comrades accepted his self-presentation as Indian and generally praised his conduct. Belaney was wounded in January 1916, and then more seriously on April 24, 1916, with a shot through the foot. When the wounded limb developed gangrene, Grey Owl was shipped to England for treatment.

    While doctors tried to heal his foot, they moved Grey Owl from one British infirmary to another for a full year. In England, Grey Owl met again with childhood friend, Constance (Ivy) Holmes, and they married. Their marriage failed in a short time, without his having told Holmes that he was still married to Angele, whom he had abandoned but not divorced.
    Grey Owl was shipped back to Canada in September 1917, where he received an honorable discharge on November 30 with a disability pension.

Grey Owl's books
    he wrote many articles, books, and films.
    - King of The Beaver People (January, 1931)
    - A Day in a Hidden Town (April, 1931)
    - The Perils of Woods Travel (September, 1931)
    - A Philosophy of the Wild (December, 1931)
    - Pilgrims of the Wild (London, 1934)
    - The Adventures of Sajo and her Beaver People (London, 1935)
    - Tales of an Empty Cabin (London, 1936)
    - The Tree (London, 1937)

    Doubts about Grey Owl's First Nation identity had been circulating and stories were published immediately after his death. The North Bay Nugget newspaper ran the first exposé the day of his death, a story which they had been holding for three years. This was followed up by international news organisations, such as The Times. His publisher Lovat Dickson tried to prove Belaney's claimed identity, but had to admit that his friend had lied to him. His popularity and support for his causes led The Ottawa Citizen to conclude, "Of course, the value of his work is not jeopardized. His attainments as a writer and naturalist will survive." This opinion was widely shared in the national press.

    While his writings showed his deep knowledge and concern about the environment, Belaney's account of his origins as "Grey Owl" was mostly fictional. The consequences of the revelation were dramatic. Publishers immediately ceased producing his books under the name Grey Owl. In some cases his books were withdrawn from publication. This in turn affected the conservation causes with which Belaney had been associated, resulting in a decrease in donations to them.