Gray Owl
28/04/16 05:33
It isn’t uncommon for me to devote a blog post to some obscure theological debate that probably isn’t important to most people. But I have other interests and passions beside theology and there are other topics upon which I am capable to engaging in rather obscure debates and conversations. My love of canoeing has led me to reading quite a bit of Canadian history. The role of the canoe in the story of Canada is huge and the adaptation of settlers to native technologies and ways is a big part of the story. Fur traders and settlers succeeded in their lives in Canada in large part because of their ability to master the use of canoes and other skills that were a part of the indigenous way of life.
The adoption of indigenous ways was so complete that many of the early explorers became part of native communities. By the 19th century there were so many people of mixed American Indian and European ancestry that a new category, Metis, was named and is still in use today to describe people of mixed heritage. A movement, especially strong in the Red and Saskatchewan river valleys, arose to call for independence for what was called the Metis nation.
As has been the case in the United States, there were also Canadians of European ancestry who so fully adopted indigenous ways that they self identified as Indian even though they had no genetic connection to those whose way of life they had adopted. If you speak of “wannabe Indians” in Canada, the name of Grey Owl usually comes up. Archibald Belaney was born in Britain and emigrated to Canada at the age of 19. He managed to make his way to Bear Island on Lake Temagami. The trip, in those days was a rigorous canoe journey. Belaney was led by Bill Guppy who was a professional trapper and guide. Just making it to Bear Island required the young man to learn whitewater paddling, upstream polling and strenuous portaging. Perseverance, a positive attitude and the willingness to learn survival skills in the face of exhaustion would have been required of the young man. He seemed to thrive on the challenge.
On Bear Island, he met people Teme-Augama First Nation who furthered his education in wilderness travel and survival skills. He pursued the life of a trapper and took his first wife, Angele, on Bear Island. It was there, in the early 20th century that he adopted the name Gray Owl. Later, after trapping a beaver with two kits who survived because Gray Owl adopted and bottle fed them in his cabin, he gave up the life of a trapper and became an outspoken advocate of conservation. He was a good writer and eloquent storyteller and soon he had quite a following across Canada and in several other countries. His writings urging the conservation of wild places were influential in the formation of Canadian parks and preserves.
It was only after his death that Grey Owl’s English roots and ethnic heritage came to life. Since that time he has been a controversial figure. Some argue that he was a fraud who lived his life pretending to be something that he was not. Others see the wisdom of his words and his positive impact on the preservation of wilderness as a lasting legacy to the nation of Canada. Listen to enough Canadian paddlers and the topic of Gray Owl, along with passionate opinions is sure to come up. Kana, the journal of Paddle Canada, will run articles and letters mentioning Gray Owl from time to time and wilderness advocates frequently quote some of his words.
There is something very appealing about native ways and identity. There seems to be no end of people from outside of South Dakota who want to visit a reservation and participate in tribal ceremonies. I know of some people who have two separate tracks of spiritual ceremonies: one that is private and part of their own traditions and practices, and another that is open to participation by non-natives for an appropriate donation. The small stream of revenue from those who want to sit in a sweat lodge or witness a sun dance helps support people who are the victims of generational poverty that grew out of the reservation system. If people knew the whole story of attempts at genocide, of boarding school violence, of the lack of jobs and economic collapse, they would not choose to identify as “Indian.” Still there is so much romance that I know hundreds of Americans of European ancestry who claim to have an Indian - usually a woman - somewhere in their family tree. There are probably more Indian princess or Indian maiden stories told by Americans of European descent than there are actual Native people who are known face to bace by members of the dominant culture.
I have found that long term relationships with our neighbors, however, require honesty. I don’t need to pretend I’m someone that I am not. I don’t need to claim a heritage that doesn’t exist. I am welcomed into the lives, homes and churches of our Native American partners by simply being myself. Our brothers and sisters don’t expect us to become them. Most of my native friends are very adept at sensing insincerity and the inconsistencies between outward appearance and inward commitment. They’ve taken enough BS to recognize it a mile away. There is no need for me to do any pretending when I am spending time on the reservation. I’m just me. Most of my mother’s ancestors were settlers who came from Europe for a wide variety of reasons including the promise of economic gain. My father’s people were more transient, rarely living in the same place for more than a couple of generations, who left Europe under pressure because of their religious and political beliefs. I grew up in territory that was taken from the Apsaalooké, known as The Crow Nation, when the reservation was downsized to its current borders.
So I won’t be weighing in with an opinion on Gray Owl. I'll leave that debate to my Canadian friends. His contributions to the conservation remain regardless of his heritage. His adopted ways and family were meaningful to him and I’ve no problem using his adopted name as well. By the words he wrote and spoke and the way he lived, his story has captured my attention.
The adoption of indigenous ways was so complete that many of the early explorers became part of native communities. By the 19th century there were so many people of mixed American Indian and European ancestry that a new category, Metis, was named and is still in use today to describe people of mixed heritage. A movement, especially strong in the Red and Saskatchewan river valleys, arose to call for independence for what was called the Metis nation.
As has been the case in the United States, there were also Canadians of European ancestry who so fully adopted indigenous ways that they self identified as Indian even though they had no genetic connection to those whose way of life they had adopted. If you speak of “wannabe Indians” in Canada, the name of Grey Owl usually comes up. Archibald Belaney was born in Britain and emigrated to Canada at the age of 19. He managed to make his way to Bear Island on Lake Temagami. The trip, in those days was a rigorous canoe journey. Belaney was led by Bill Guppy who was a professional trapper and guide. Just making it to Bear Island required the young man to learn whitewater paddling, upstream polling and strenuous portaging. Perseverance, a positive attitude and the willingness to learn survival skills in the face of exhaustion would have been required of the young man. He seemed to thrive on the challenge.
On Bear Island, he met people Teme-Augama First Nation who furthered his education in wilderness travel and survival skills. He pursued the life of a trapper and took his first wife, Angele, on Bear Island. It was there, in the early 20th century that he adopted the name Gray Owl. Later, after trapping a beaver with two kits who survived because Gray Owl adopted and bottle fed them in his cabin, he gave up the life of a trapper and became an outspoken advocate of conservation. He was a good writer and eloquent storyteller and soon he had quite a following across Canada and in several other countries. His writings urging the conservation of wild places were influential in the formation of Canadian parks and preserves.
It was only after his death that Grey Owl’s English roots and ethnic heritage came to life. Since that time he has been a controversial figure. Some argue that he was a fraud who lived his life pretending to be something that he was not. Others see the wisdom of his words and his positive impact on the preservation of wilderness as a lasting legacy to the nation of Canada. Listen to enough Canadian paddlers and the topic of Gray Owl, along with passionate opinions is sure to come up. Kana, the journal of Paddle Canada, will run articles and letters mentioning Gray Owl from time to time and wilderness advocates frequently quote some of his words.
There is something very appealing about native ways and identity. There seems to be no end of people from outside of South Dakota who want to visit a reservation and participate in tribal ceremonies. I know of some people who have two separate tracks of spiritual ceremonies: one that is private and part of their own traditions and practices, and another that is open to participation by non-natives for an appropriate donation. The small stream of revenue from those who want to sit in a sweat lodge or witness a sun dance helps support people who are the victims of generational poverty that grew out of the reservation system. If people knew the whole story of attempts at genocide, of boarding school violence, of the lack of jobs and economic collapse, they would not choose to identify as “Indian.” Still there is so much romance that I know hundreds of Americans of European ancestry who claim to have an Indian - usually a woman - somewhere in their family tree. There are probably more Indian princess or Indian maiden stories told by Americans of European descent than there are actual Native people who are known face to bace by members of the dominant culture.
I have found that long term relationships with our neighbors, however, require honesty. I don’t need to pretend I’m someone that I am not. I don’t need to claim a heritage that doesn’t exist. I am welcomed into the lives, homes and churches of our Native American partners by simply being myself. Our brothers and sisters don’t expect us to become them. Most of my native friends are very adept at sensing insincerity and the inconsistencies between outward appearance and inward commitment. They’ve taken enough BS to recognize it a mile away. There is no need for me to do any pretending when I am spending time on the reservation. I’m just me. Most of my mother’s ancestors were settlers who came from Europe for a wide variety of reasons including the promise of economic gain. My father’s people were more transient, rarely living in the same place for more than a couple of generations, who left Europe under pressure because of their religious and political beliefs. I grew up in territory that was taken from the Apsaalooké, known as The Crow Nation, when the reservation was downsized to its current borders.
So I won’t be weighing in with an opinion on Gray Owl. I'll leave that debate to my Canadian friends. His contributions to the conservation remain regardless of his heritage. His adopted ways and family were meaningful to him and I’ve no problem using his adopted name as well. By the words he wrote and spoke and the way he lived, his story has captured my attention.