The Men of the Last Frontier

by Grey Owl, Jim Polk (Introduction), James Polk (Introduction)

In 1931 Grey Owl published his first book, The Men of the Last Frontier, a work that is part memoir, part history of the vanishing wilderness in Canada, and part compendium of animal and First Nations tales and lore. A passionate, compelling appeal for the protection and preservation of the natural environment pervades Grey Owls words and makes his literary debut still ring with great relevance in the 21st century.

By the 1920s, Canadas outposts of adventure had been thrust farther and farther north to the remote margins of the country. Lumbermen, miners, and trappers invaded the primeval forests, seizing on natures wealth with soulless efficiency. Grey Owl himself fled before the assault as he witnessed his valleys polluted with sawmills, his hills dug up for hidden treasure, and wildlife, particularly his beloved beavers, exterminated for quick fortunes.

Genres: Canada

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Grey Owl (or Wa-sha-quon-asin, from the Ojibwe wenjiganoozhiinh, meaning "great horned owl" or "great grey owl") was the name Archibald Belaney adopted when he took on a First Nations identity as an adult. A British native, he was most notable as an author and one of the "most effective apostles of the wilderness". While his writings showed his deep knowledge and concern about the environment, Belaney's account of his origins as "Grey Owl" was mostly fictional. The consequences of the revelation were dramatic. Publishers immediately ceased producing his books under the name Grey Owl. In some cases his books were withdrawn from publication.
(from wikipedia)

Reviews

[MargaretDH]

Archibald Belaney, aka Grey Owl, is an interesting Canadian figure. An Englishman who immigrated to Canada in the early 20th century, he reinvented himself as the son a Scottish father and an Apache mother. He was a fur trapper, served in the Canadian Army during WWI, and became a noted conservationist, public speaker and advocate for the creation of National and Provincial Parks. His true heritage was not discovered until after his death in 1938.

On the surface, this is an exploration of the landscape of Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec, and a loving paean to the wilderness of the Canadian Shield, and to the men strong and smart and hardy enough to make their life there. It's also an ode to the beaver, and a condemnation of those would conquer the wilderness by cutting down trees, rather than living in harmony with Nature. And if you step back, this is a celebration and delineation of a certain kind of masculinity, a fine example of the Romantic view of wilderness, an exploration of a particularly Canadian kind of nationalism and nation-building, and a now shocking example of the kind of racism that advocated that it was better for Canada's indigenous people to fade away as pure examples of the noble savage, rather than embrace assimilation. (Their continued existence as nations within Canada was not an option on the table.) Plus, and I was not expecting this, there's some bonus bigotry about south eastern European immigrants, and a reminder of the time when they weren't considered fully white. And that's not even touching the ways in which Grey Owl positions himself as an outsider and source of authority throughout his narrative.

Anyway, I'm not going to give this stars, because that's not really the point of reading this kind of book. I read it at the same time as a friend, and I'm very much looking forward to our discussion. If you're interested in the kind of language and sensibility that spurred the creation of some of Canada's parks and a spirit of conservation, this is definitely worth reading, or at least dipping into. It's also an interesting contrast to the kinds of language used by our neighbours to the south, and the way Canada viewed nation-building and it's position in the British Empire, as opposed to manifest destiny.

[Jake Jaqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read both "Men of the Last Frontier" and "Pilgrims of the Wild" - they are both unique books, especially "Men of the Last Frontier," his first attempt. He's got more of a presence of someone being right there with you and personally telling a tale than I think anything else I've read. 'Half Apache and half European, he had the Literary brains as well as the Native American instincts to actually live the life he did and also be able to write about it - from living off the land in Northern Canada as a fur trapper, he witnessed the destruction of the natural habitat from clear-cut logging to the near extinction of the Beaver and other game, and from an exploiter of Nature became one of Canada's first great Environmental exponents. It is a rather heart-rending tale.
Grey Owl is best known for his work with the Beaver, Canada's chief export and Natural resource for a few hundred years, and trapped to near extinction in his time. His description of the Beaver "Little People" - their intelligence and personality - is amazing and makes one re-evaluate the whole animal kingdom as much more like us, and our younger Kin, rather than some brainless and soul-less alien species. Both these books are in the public domain for Canadians and are available at gutenberg.ca.
One thing I particularly liked was his account of a few old Native Americans who could still "Do Things" in a magical sense as some of their ancestral shamans did. While Grey Owl says that nearly all the "Medicine Men" of his time where powerless, he accounts one man who was able to put out a forest-fire with a Rainstorm (and say he was going to do it ahead of time,) and that his childhood Mentor called him back to the abandoned site of the Village he grew up in to see him once again, and also witness him die.

[Woodsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth reading for anyone with an interest in wildness conservation, native history, ungulate and beaver habits, logging and fire suppression, transport and fur trapping (especially beaver) in early 20th century Canada. With that said, I vehemently oppose his racial views: there's one chapter where Grey Owl rips into Italians and other Southern Europeans, saying they are lazy, fire-starting Hunkies: Whoa 1931! That's racist.

[Anthony Meaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I avoided this book for a long time because I already knew about Grey Owl and his true identity. So I figured it would ring hollow knowing he was a "fake Indian".

However it is a very good read for anyone interested in life in the bush in Northern Canada about 100 years ago. I figured it would be a book purely about life as an Indian (since that is the identity he was writing from at the time). It's not, it really is a well written meditation on a variety of subjects from hunting, to getting lost in the bush, to forest fires, beavers (surprisingly the most interesting chapter), immigration and conservation in general.

Knowing his real identify going into this I was surprised that he could have fooled anyone given the writing style and the historical references which could have only come from someone who had received a classic British education. Only once in the book does he refer to himself as an Indian and even then only elliptically. He constantly refers to "Indians" as from the point of view of an outsider observing them. Not someone writing from first person experience.

Most surprising are his thoughts on immigration which by today's standards are incredibly racist. His contention that Eastern Europeans are sub-intelligent, lazy and prone to starting forest fires to create jobs surprised me considering that Grey Owl is held in high regard by so many. In this regard he sounds much more the English Imperialist rather than a "wise" Aboriginal. This is really the only blot on a rather good read.

Also, I would caution the reader to skip the introduction and then come back to it once you've finished the book. This intro gives a fairly detailed summary of Archie Belaney's life (which is isn't exactly a happy story) and pretty starkly lays out all his faults (aside from the fakery). It's a worthwhile addition to the book but would read better as an addendum rather than an intro.

[Piotrek K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cudowna książka!

[George Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very slow start (pg 170 +-) but after, outstanding history and stories of forest and beaver depletion and then, native depletion. Sad.

[Grond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grey Owl's 1931 book 'The Men of the Last Frontier' is an interesting read. It morphs from a rather Victorian description of life in the wilderness (with all the inherent hyperbole you might expect from an author of the era trying to 'sell' his viewpoint) to an autobiographical portrait of a man realizing his true passion for the Wilds. Archibald Belaney may have started out as a young English boy fascinated by the world of the Red Indian 'over there' but by the time of his death he was the real deal. He had walked the walked and had come to the realization that the natural environment in Canada needed protection and people to champion it with 'just plain folks'. 'Last Frontier' is old fashioned in tone and in the grip of archaic language but it remains a fascinating artifact of the beginnings of Environmental awareness in Canada. Grey Owl's storytelling aims for poetry (and achieves it at times) and manages to tell personal, adventurous and funny tales. Clearly a good read.