Gerald Auger

Gerald Auger has certainly come a long way from his humble origins of Wabasca, Alberta, Canada. A National Native Role Model, Entrepreneur and Director/Producer/Writer/Actor who has appeared on a TV series and a few movie appearances to his credit, Auger is living proof that if the spirit is willing, the sky is the limit.

Such achievements seemed insurmountable when Auger left an abusive home environment for a turbulent life on the streets several years ago. Abandoning his life on the reserve he spent his youth drifting between the East and West coasts, witnessing the horrors of street life, from the urban squalor afflicting his people, to routines instances of alcoholism, drug abuse, violence and witnessing death.

To avoid becoming a statistic, he kept his head above tempestuous waters stealing food and finding refuge in the occasional cardboard box. But when he saw his companions die one by one, Auger quickly came to terms with his situation: either 25 years behind bars or six feet under.

Instead, Auger decided to get a life. He went back home, cleaned himself up and attended college, where he wound up with an educational background specializing in Marketing/Management and Small Business Management. During his academic tenure, Auger became president of the campus’s Student Association, President of the Student Society for Alberta Vocational College and the Circle for Aboriginal Students at the Grande Prairie Regional College. He received the Charles S. Nobleship Award for Student Leadership from the Department of Advanced Education and the Province of Alberta.

Gerald plays the lead role of “Soaring Eagle” in the first episode of the mini-series Into The West for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks, which aired two years ago on TNT. Auger can also be seen in the IMAX spectacle Lewis and Clark: The Journey West and appeared in the Hallmark Entertainment 2003 mini-series, Dreamkeeper.

Previously, Auger snared a supporting role in the 1998 movie, My West, starring David Bowie and Harvey Kietel. The project for Pacific Pictures, filmed in Italy, marked the first time a western used First Nations actors in its cast.

Between acting gigs, voiceover sessions and modeling stints for calendars and posters, Auger is the Chief Executive Officer of Black Eagle Productions, of which he is also owner. A business designed to advance aboriginal status in mainstream society and debunk cultural stereotypes of his people. Through Black Eagle Productions Auger will produce feature films, documentaries and docudramas.

In 1995, after graduation, the Governor General of Canada awarded Gerald the National Native Role Model title for 1996/97. He spent the next two years visiting more than 30 communities across Canada, inspiring his aboriginal peers, relating stories about his experiences and bonding with locals through a number of cultural events and ceremonies. Gerald was also the first Aboriginal recipient of the Rotary International Integrity Award in 1999 for the Avenue of Nations.

Two years ago, Gerald produced & wrote a North American native trilogy based on native mythology in an action/thriller genre and was involved as an actor and producer on another feature film project about a legend that became a cannibal. Most recently he has been cast in Luna – The Way Home and Klatsasssin.

Source: nativevue