Gerald Auger[ windspeaker confidential ]

Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?

Gerald Auger: Trust. I am in an industry where I have to follow my instincts to determine who I want around me and I always ask myself “Why are they wanting to be around me?” I am so used to having people take me for granted because of my caring and giving qualities and for who I know in the industry. I am at a point in my life where I need to be able to rely and trust on a friend that will be there for me through the highs and lows of my life and career, as I would be for them.

W: What is it that really makes you mad?
G.A.: I try not to get mad at people or the little things in life. If I do it is usually momentary because I try and live up to my Native spirituality and have come to understand that everything happens for a reason and serves a purpose; it is what we do with it. If it’s a good thing, we give thanks. If it’s a bad thing, we need to learn from it in a good way. I have also come to understand that there are people in this world who might not be as evolved as I am when it comes to finding the balance with my “human” being and “spiritual” being. I don’t take anything personal because I know it has nothing to do with me but more with the person projecting whatever they are projecting.

W: When are you at your happiest?
G.A.: I am happiest when I’m with my grandson, THE MAV!! He is my whole reason for living at the moment and I have to try and spend more time with the little guy. As a matter of fact, I will make a point of it.

W: What one word best describes you when you are at your worst?
G.A.:  Missing in Action! This is when I need to go out on my own and figure out or deal with what I need to deal with at the present time. This is where I go and listen to the silence, which is really the Creator.

W: What one person do you most admire and why?
G.A.: The Creator is who I most admire because he has always been there for me. It’s just that I was never there for him. In the last year I have had to re-connect with my Creator because I lost myself in an industry where I had become someone I didn’t like. I will continue to evolve as a “spiritual” being in a “human” body through trial and tribulation. As I know when I stumble and fall, which I will because I’m only human, the Creator will be there for me because he is about unconditional love. I must grow from these human experiences to become a better person.

W: What is the most difficult thing you’ve ever had to do?
G.A.: To walk away from a friend who needed to be taught a lesson that you don’t take the ones in your life for granted, and lies and deception will eventually tell the truth to both you and me. But I am thankful to the Creator that this person was sent into my life because I also learned a lot about myself at the same time. Creator willing, it would be nice to re-connect in a good way but only the Creator knows if that will happen.

W: What is your greatest accomplishment?
G.A.: I haven’t reached that yet as I am still growing and maturing as an individual, artist and a contributing member of society. My greatest accomplishment of all time will be when I earn that seat with the Creator in the spirit world, and that will be based on the good work that I do for him in my physical walk in this world.

W: What one goal remains out of reach?
G.A.: Right now, and I am still working at and won’t stop until I achieve it, winning an Academy Award either as an Actor or Writer/Director.

W: If you couldn’t do what you’re doing today, what would you be doing?
G.A.: Living a simple life, but right now life is short as it is and I plan on living life to the fullest and to do as much as I can, when I can. I want to be able to say at the end of my journey, “Yeah, I did all that!

W: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
G.A.: It was from my late father, Jack R. Auger: Life is what you make it so go out there and do it. Follow your dreams because only you can do that.

W: Did you take it?
G.A.: I’m living it and loving it. I have no regrets and have just started the next phase of my journey in this physical world. This time I have the Creator watching my back and have come to understand that I need to be there for him this time around.

W: How do you hope to be remembered?
G.A.: That I lived and breathed my life for my Creator, and gave thanks every day for all of creation, my son, my grandson and my family. Which I do!

Wabasca’s Gerald Auger is an entrepreneur, director, producer, writer and actor. He’s getting a lot of attention for Hell On Wheels, an American TV Pilot for AMC portraying a Pawnee killer, and will appear in The Plateau, a feature film where he plays a Native cop battling his own demons, airing on APTN in 2011.

Between acting gigs and voiceover sessions, Auger is chief executive officer and owner of Black Eagle Entertainment, a production house designed to advance Aboriginal status in mainstream society and debunk cultural stereotypes of his people. Through Black Eagle Entertainment Auger will produce feature films, documentaries and television series. Auger’s educational background in business has stood him well in entertainment production. Auger was awarded the National Native Role Model Award by the Governor General in 1996 and was also the first Aboriginal recipient of the Rotary International Integrity Award in 1999 for the Avenue of Nations in Alberta. Check out his website at www.geraldauger.com.