Robert Hofsinde (Gray-Wolf) was a Danish anthropologist, artist, linguist, and author who specialized in Native American studies. He spent 3 years living with an Ojibwa tribe in Minnesota, and the next 16 years visiting and studying various Native American villages around the American West and Southwest. Hofsinde was born in Denmark in 1902, where he received his formal education, including 6 years of art training. He came to the United States in 1922, settling in Minneapolis. His first job was creating scientific drawings for the Minnesota Academy of Science. One winter in Minnesota, Hofsinde was out in the forests trapping, and found a young Ojibwa (Chippewa) boy who had fallen into a pit and badly broken his leg. Hofsinde helped the boy out, set his broken leg, and pulled him on a sled back to his tribe's village. This began a special friendship between the man and the boy. Hofsinde was soon afterward adopted by the boy's family into the Ojibwa tribe, and given the name "Gray-Wolf." His wife was later renamed "Morning Star." Time spent with the Ojibwa Indians changed the direction of Hofsinde's career, and his life. He began to sketch the Indians, and became so fascinated in their culture that he ended up living with the tribe for over 3 years. After this period, Hofsinde embarked upon a "research trip" that lasted nearly 16 years, visiting and studying various Native American tribes and villages in various parts of the West and Southwest. While researching, Hofsinde would earn his living in lumber camps, farms, and ranches, or by doing odd jobs. His love for Native American cultures brought Hofsinde to write articles for magazines on the topic. In the mid 1940's, Hofsinde took his drawings to the publisher Morrow Junior, hoping to become a book illustrator. An editor suggested he write a book himself to supplement his own illustrations. The result was the well-received The Indian's Secret World (1955). Hofsinde followed up with Indian Sign Language, and eventually wrote and illustrated thirteen more books over the next twenty years. Rather than write about specific Indian peoples, Hofsinde explored themes in Indian life such as hunting, music making, games and crafts, or warrior traditions.