Grey Owl (1888-1938) was the Native American name of Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, an adopted Ojibwa (also called Chippewa) who gained fame as a wildlife writer and lecturer. Grey Owl’s books and lectures were popular during the 1930’s, particularly in England, and stirred interest in conservation. Grey Owl wrote mainly about beavers. Tales of an Empty Cabin (1936) is considered one of his best books.
Belaney was born on Sept. 18, 1888, in Hastings, England. He moved to Canada at the age of 18 and became a guide in northern Ontario. In 1907, he joined a band of Ojibwa, who later adopted him and gave him the name Grey Owl. He became a trapper, but he eventually abandoned the profession, which he came to view as a violent trade that was destroying many animal species. He began writing as a career in 1929. Grey Owl’s identity as an Englishman rather than a Native American was not generally known until after his death. He died on April 13, 1938.
