When people
think about Prince Albert National
Park, images conjurer of Canadian
author and conservationist Grey
Owl
"Far
enough away to gain seclusion, yet
within reach of those whose genuine
interest prompts them to make the
trip, Beaver Lodge extends a welcome
to you if your heart is right."
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Prince Albert
National Park's reputation as a tourism
destination is founded on its nature,
history and local culture.
At the Nature Centre you'll find exhibits
and regular video presentations in
the theatre which help you learn more
about the park and its significance
in the family of national parks of
Canada.
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FOLLOWING IN GREY OWL'S WAKE
By John
Geary
There it was again … there was no
mistaking it this morning.
A pack of wolves serenaded us as we finished our breakfast on
Bagwa Lake. There is no sound that says "wilderness"
more than the howl of a wolf on a distant shore …or in this
case, a not-so-distant shore.
Read
"In Grey Owl's Wake"
On The Trail of Grey Owl By
Cathy Smith
When I found myself in a canoe on a huge
wilderness lake in Prince Albert National Park, northern Saskatchewan,
sweating and swearing, neck and back stiff with pain, I blamed
Richard Attenborough. I never would have known about Grey Owl
if he had not resurrected one of his childhood heroes and made
a film about him.
Read
"On The Trail of Grey Owl"
Man of the Last Frontier: The Story
of Grey Owl by
Keith
C. Heidorn PhD
As the great
doors of the hall are flung open, a dramatic figure dressed
in buckskins and leather entered proclaiming, "How kola,"
followed by a few words in the tongue or the Ojibway nation
which he quickly translates to mean: "I come in peace, Brother."
Read
"Man of the last Frontier:
The Story of Grey Owl"
PRINCE
ALBERT NATIONAL PARK NATURE CENTRE
Build
part of your visit to Prince Albert National Park around an
interpretive
event or take advantage of the self-guided hiking
trails or Nature Centre.
They'll
help you make more sense of the creatures and multitude of ecological
relationships which make up the beautiful and fragile northern
forests and lakes you'll encounter during your visit.
Visit
Parks Canada Nature Centre
MORE
ABOUT GREY OWL...
Grey Owl lived in the park during the 1930's and worked for
the Dominion Park Service. Through his writing, films and lecture
tours he drew the world's attention to the need for conservation.
His real name was Archibald Stansfeld Belaney and he was actually
born in Hastings, England in 1888. In 1906, he immigrated to
Northern Ontario where between 1907 and 1927, he worked as a
trapper, guide and forest ranger.
In 1925, he met Gertrude Bernard whom he called Anahareo. She
was a Mohawk woman from Mattawa, on the Ottawa River. Anahareo
encouraged Grey Owl to stop trapping and with her support he
turned his back on the lifestyle of 20 years. Needing another
source of income, Grey Owl began to publish his writings.
The Dominion Parks Service became aware of Grey Owl through
these articles and he was hired as their first naturalist. In
1931, a cabin was built on a small lake in Riding Mountain National
Park for Grey Owl, Anahareo and their two beavers Rawhide and
Jelly Roll. Due to unsuitable water conditions, later that year
he and his family were moved to Ajawaan Lake in PANP.
Grey Owl wrote three best-selling books while he lived in PANP.
Pilgrims of the Wild (1935), Sajo and her Beaver People (1935)
and Tales of an Empty Cabin (1936). There are also several films
produced about Grey Owl.
Hundreds of people visited Grey Owl and his beavers during the
summers at Beaver Lodge. In 1935 and again in 1937, he went
to England to promote his books and his ideas on conservation.
However, the demanding pace of two or three lectures a day left
Grey Owl physically and mentally drained. In spring of 1938,
he returned to Beaver Lodge, a tired and weakened man. He died
of pneumonia on April 13th, 1938.
The cabins and gravesites of Grey Owl and Anahareo, and the
grave site of their daughter, Shirley Dawn, are located next
to Ajawaan Lake.
Visit Beaver Lodge:
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hike the Grey Owl Trail - 20 km one way (from Kingsmere River
parking area)
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paddle or boat to the cabin - from the Kingsmere River parking
lot, travel up Kingsmere River to the rail cart, portage to
Kingsmere Lake, cross Kingsmere Lake to the North End picnic
site, portage to Ajawaan Lake and travel across to the cabin
or follow the trail from North End to the cabin on foot (3
km).
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