Ernest Benedict
{{short description|Mohawk educator and activist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ernest M. Kaientaronkwen Benedict
| birth_date = {{birth date|1918|07|14}}
| birth_place = Akwesasne, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|01|08|1918|07|14}}
| death_place =
| occupation = {{hlist|Educator|activist|chief}}
| known_for = Founding the Akwesasne Mohawk Counsellor Organization; Co-founding North American Indian Traveling College; Founding Manitou College; Founding Akwesasne Notes
| alma_mater = St. Lawrence University
| spouse = Florence Hopps (m. 1952)
}}
Ernest M. Kaientaronkwen Benedict (July 14, 1918 – January 8, 2011) was an Akwesasronon educator, activist, and chief of the Mohawk Council.
Early life
Benedict was born on 14 July 1918 to Charles and Julia Jandreau Benedict, members of the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne. He attended school on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, at Bombay, New York, and the Massena Central High School. {{clarify|Benedict graduated from Syracuse University and attained a B.A. in Sociology from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY in 1941.|date=November 2018}} He married Florence Hopps on 20 September 1952. Benedict received his Bachelors of Arts degree from St. Lawrence University in Sociology. Benedict received an honorary degree from Trent University in 1994.{{Cite web|url=http://donaldsonfh.com/book-of-memories/1135013/Benedict-Ernest/obituary.php|title=Obituary for Ernest M. Benedict|date=January 10, 2011|website=Donaldson Funeral Home|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105090655/http://donaldsonfh.com/book-of-memories/1135013/Benedict-Ernest/obituary.php|archive-date=November 5, 2016}}
Teaching and activism
Benedict worked with mentor Ray Fadden-Tehanetorens to organize the Akwesasne Mohawk Counsellor Organization, which visited historical sites while meeting with other Native nations and learning about their heritage while traveling in the eastern part of North America.
Their travels would influence the formation of the White Roots of Peace in the mid-1930s.{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the American Indian Movement|last=Johansen|first=Bruce|publisher=Greenwood|year=2013|isbn=978-1440803178|pages=286}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/columnists/doug-george-kanentiio/11011-ernest-kaientaronkwen-benedict-1918-2011-akwesasnes-conscience|title=Ernest Kaientaronkwen Benedict: (1918-2011) "Akwesasne's Conscience"|last=George|first=Doug|date=February 3, 2011|work=Indian Country|access-date=November 4, 2018}}
Benedict started the North American Indian Traveling College with Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell, as a continuation of the Counsellor Organization.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nnatc.org/|title=OUR JOURNEY|website=The Native North American Travelling College|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809080337/http://www.nnatc.org/|archive-date=August 9, 2018|access-date=November 4, 2018}}{{Citation |last=Canada |first=National Film Board of |title=Travelling College |url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/travelling-college/ |language=en |access-date=2022-04-03}}
Benedict founded Manitou College as an attempt to create a college composed of mostly Native Americans. The concept of a degree based on traditional Native knowledge was picked up on by Syracuse University.{{Cite web|url=http://thecollege.syr.edu/academics/interdisciplinary/NativeAmerican.html|title=Native American and Indigenous Studies|website=Syracuse University College of Arts & Sciences|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309013418/http://thecollege.syr.edu/academics/interdisciplinary/NativeAmerican.html|archive-date=March 9, 2018|access-date=November 4, 2018}}
He inspired Operation Kanyengehaga, a tutoring program conceived by professor Bob Wells at St. Lawrence University.{{Cite journal|last=Burdick|first=Neal|date=Winter 2016|title=Where the Partridge Drums|url=https://www.stlawu.edu/magazine/winter-2016/where-partridge-drums|journal=St. Lawrence University Magazine|pages=22–25}}
Benedict was a lecturer and professor at Trent University, where he later served on the PhD committee for Native Studies candidates.
Journalism
From 1939 until 1941, Benedict was the editor of what was thought to be Akwesasne's first newspaper; the War Whoop. He later worked with the paper Kawehras! ("It Thunders!").{{Cite web|url=http://www.wampumchronicles.com/history.html|title=The History of Akwesasne from Pre-Contact to Modern Times|last=Bonaparte|first=Darren|website=Wampum Chronicles|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825150951/http://www.wampumchronicles.com/history.html|archive-date=August 25, 2018|access-date=November 4, 2018}}{{Cite book|title=Native Americans Today: A Biographical Dictionary|last=Johansen|first=Bruce|publisher=Greenwood|year=2010|isbn=978-0313355547|pages=25}}
The Akwesasne Notes was started by Benedict in 1968.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.nfb.ca/film/travelling-college/ Travelling College (1968) NFB film]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict, Ernest}}
Category:Academic staff of Trent University
Category:Activists from New York (state)
Category:American Mohawk people
Category:Educators from New York (state)
Category:First Nations academics
Category:Native American people from New York (state)
Category:People from Franklin County, New York