Martha Benjamin Explained

Martha Benjamin (born 1935) from Old Crow, Yukon (Vuntut Gwitch'in First Nation)^[1] is a Canadian Indigenous cross country skier. With the guidance of Jean-Marie Mouchet (Oblate Priest), she took up the sport of cross-country skiing. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Benjamin was a national level skier competing throughout Canada, the United States and Europe.^[2]

Personal life

A lifelong resident of Old Crow, Yukon, Benjamin married before the age of 25 and had five children and thirteen grandchildren.^[3]

Major sport achievements and rewards

• US Nationals in New Hampshire - twenty-sixth place finish in a group of sixty-nine men
• 1963 - The 10 km (43.29 minutes) women's Canadian women's Nordic Champion Cross Country Skiing in Midland, Ontario^{[4] [5]}
• Trained with Team Canada, however family obligations, as well as funding and support from the Canadian Olympic Committee stopped her for competing at the 1964 Winter Olympics (Innsbruck, Austria).
• 1983 - Inducted into the Yukon Sports Hall of Fame.

Notes and References

1. Book: Hall, M.A.. Aboriginal People and Sport in Canada. UBC Press. 2013. Forsyth, J.. Giles, A.R.. Vancouver, BC. Towards a History of Aboriginal Women in Canadian Sport.
2. News: 1989, Martha Benjamin (Cross Country Skiing). 2013-02-24. Sport Yukon. 2017-10-25. en-US.
3. Book: Hall, M.A.. Native Americans in Sport. Sharpe Reference. 2004. C.R. King. Armonk, N.Y.. Martha Benjamin.
4. News: Whitehorse Daily Star: Martha Benjamin: Canadian Champion. Whitehorse Daily Star. 2017-10-25. en.
5. Web site: Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada.