On September 18th, 1888 Archibald Stansfield Belaney better known as Grey owl was born. He was brought up by his two aunts in England till he was fifteen when he decided to run away and go to Canada. Following many failed attempts to follow the big boom in silver mining he was found sick and starving by an indigenous guide and was brought to the Ojibwa camp.
After arriving there he was befriended by the members of the tribe. They then taught him their ways and he made friends and even became a guild at one point. After a while he began to hate the fact that he was a white man and it made him feel left out because he looked different from all his friends. To try and get around this and not to be the odd one out he claimed he had an apache mother and an English father who raised him in England. His new friends all believed his claim and with that he started to withdraw even more from the white man and threw himself even more into the ways of the indigenous people and even became a forest ranger. He accepted every challenge that came with it to prove he was just as good as anyone else. Grey Owl served in the armed forces from 1914 to 1917 where he was wounded. After his discharge he retreated even further from the White people also believing they were the reason for forest fires. He spent most of this time with the Ojibwa Tribe. As an indigenous person he was received by King George V. In 1920 he was officially adopted into the Ojibwa tribe as a blood brother. During this time he became famous as a naturalist. He was also known to have been one of the first men to tame an adult beaver. He later set up his sanctuary in Prince Albert National park where he stayed until his death in 1938 at the age of 49. Grey Owl will be remembered for his attempts to eliminate cruel practices like trophy hunting. To hear more about Grey Owl you can read his books such as The Men of the Last Frontier, Pilgrims of the Wild, The Tales of an Empty Cabin, Her Beaver and The Tree, and more. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors.
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The year was 1891, Canada had been a country for 24 years and European settlers were still flooding in, looking forward to their new lives. Swift Current, or at the time, Assiniboia, Northwest Territories, had been an area that many people were starting to settle in.
On May 19, 1891, Walter and Mary Elizabeth Richardson welcomed their baby girl, Rachel Richardson, into the world. Rachel ended up being the first Caucasian baby to be born in Assiniboia, Northwest Territories. At age 21 Rachel started working for Senator Kirchoffer and his wife in Brandon (and later Ottawa) as a maid. While in Brandon her employers were hosts to the Duke and Duchess and Princess Patricia, Colonel Lowthes, Major Worthington, Captain Buckley, and the Duke’s valet and Duchess’ maid. Lake Manitoba provided them with a beautiful spot to canoe. The Duchess gave Rachel a brooch with her initials on it as a token of remembrance. The brooch is still within the family. At the age of 25 in 1916, Rachel married Alexander Murdock, together they raised 4 boys and 4 girls. Rachel believed in the importance of the proper use of grammar and she taught her children to work hard, but also take time to sing, dance, and use good manners. Rachel had a few hobbies, and was apart of the Glen Kerr homemakers club, but her main interest was politics. Being an enthusiastic member of the NDP, she attended their meetings and her children went to CCYM. Rachel lost her husband in 1958 and lived in Moose Jaw at the Ina Grafton Gage Home before spending her last days in a home in Herbert. Her legacy was her wonderful influence on her children and grandchildren who reflect her in a multitude of ways. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. |