Description
Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (English: ; September 18, 1888 – April 13, 1938), commonly known as Grey Owl , was a popular writer, public speaker and conservationist. Born an Englishman, in the latter years of his life he passed as half Indian, claiming he was the son of a Scottish man and an Apache woman. With books, articles and public appearances promoting wilderness conservation, he achieved fame in the 1930s. Shortly after his death in 1938, his real identity as the Englishman Archie Belaney was exposed.: 210ff
Belaney rose to prominence as an author and lecturer on environmental issues. While working for the Dominion Parks Branch of Canada in the 1930s, Grey Owl was established as the "caretaker of park animals," first at Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba and then at Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan.: 92, 108 His views on conservation, expressed in numerous articles, books, lectures and films, reached audiences beyond the borders of Canada, bringing attention to the negative impact of exploiting nature and the urgent need for people to develop respect for the natural world.
Recognition of Belaney includes biographies, academic studies, historic plaques in England, Ontario and Quebec, and a film based on his life, Grey Owl, directed by Richard Attenborough.
