Fraud Watch
GREY OWL--THE NOBLEST FRAUDSTER
by Nolan Young
October 14, 2004
In light of the latest movie version coming out of Hollywood about Grey Owl, it would probably be of interest to everyone under the age of 60 to offer information about him. First, he existed; he was not a Hollywood screenwriter's fantasy. He was, in fact, one of the modern era's greatest fakers.
Grey Owl claimed to be the Mexican-born offspring of a Scotsman and his Apache bride, who earned their living performing for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. However, he was actually Archibald Belaney, the son of a local playboy and his 13-year-old sister-in-law wife, (the first wife died a suspicious death) from Hastings, England. He was born in 1888.
His father and new wife were paid a remittance, by the family, to stay away, and Archibald was raised by his two unbetrothed aunts. He attended Hastings Grammar School.
Archie was a dreamer, and created a rich fantasy about living with a North American Indian tribe. He spent a great deal of time camping, staying out-doors, studying animals and their ways, and learning as much as he could about the Indians and differences between tribes. He was so passionate about them that at age 18, he sailed to Toronto, and trekked to the woods in search of the Ojibways. They met and adopted him into their tribe. He stayed with them, and married, and was not heard from for several years.
Suddenly, he showed up in 1915 as a private in the Canadian Army, was wounded in Flanders, and was sent back to England to Hastings Military Hospital. He re-opened a friendship with a woman he had known as a child, married her as well, and after two years left, to return to his beloved Canadian woods.
Belaney was disappointed with all the progress and mining taking place in his former stomping ground, and sought further isolation and communion with nature. Along the way he met Gertrude Bernard who adopted an Iroquois name for herself. Thinking this was a good idea; he promptly, and yet again, married her, and changed his name to an Iroquois name that roughly translates into "Grey Owl". That's when he fabricated his fantastic background, and wrote and had published several books under his fake name, and his Archibald Belaney identity began to vanish.
Indians and nature were hot topics at the time in Europe, and Grey Owl's books sold extremely well. He went on a huge lecture tour (I'm guessing he was not wearing his Hastings Grammar School blazer), was photographed by Karsh, had an audience with King George and returned to Canada very rich and very famous. He was interviewed many times as Grey Owl, and he and his wife never revealed his true identity. All the Canadian woodsmen, and all the Ojibways, knew he was an absolute fraud, but never gave him up. They apparently found it to be an hilarious hoax, and felt they were in on it, by not exposing the imposture.
He continued on as a great faker until his death in 1933, after which he was unveiled as a fake, fraud and bigamist. Of all the great imposters, Belaney was possibly the noblest one, and continued to be loved by his vast audience after his death.
Nolan Young is a private investigator and a fraud consultant .
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