Grey Owl

Grey Owl (or Wa-sha-quon-asin, from the Ojibwe wenjiganoozhiinh, meaning "great horned owl" or "great grey owl") was the name Archibald Belaney (September 18, 1888 – April 13, 1938) adopted when he took on a First Nations identity as an adult. Born in England as Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, and migrating to Canada in the first decade of the 20th century, he rose to prominence as a notable author, lecturer, and one of the "most effective apostles of the wilderness". In his experiences with the Ojibwe Indians, Belaney learned the Aboriginal harvesting techniques, trapping, and Ojibwe culture. The pivotal moment of departure for Grey Owl’s early conservation work was when he began his relationship with a young Iroquois girl named Gertrude Bernard, who assisted in his transition from trapper to conservationist.

In working with the National Parks Branch, Grey Owl gained recognition and fame in his early career as a conservationist, becoming the subject of many films, and being 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 conservationism reached audiences beyond the borders of Canada, influencing how people saw their adverse 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 nature.

Revelation of his British origins after his death adversely affected Grey Owl's reputation for some time. Since the 1970s and, with the centennial of his birth, there has been renewed public appreciation for his conservation efforts. Recognition has included biographies, a historic plaque at his birthplace, and a 1999 biopic about his life by the director Richard Attenborough.