What are the foresters
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ORONHYATEKHA (meaning “burning cloud,” baptized Peter Martin), physician, office holder, administrator of a fraternal order, and author; b. 10 Aug. 1841 on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Upper Canada, grandson of George Martin*; m. 28 Aug. 1863 Ellen Hill (Karakwineh, meaning “moving sun”), great-granddaughter of Joseph Brant [Thayendanegea*], and they had six children, of whom a daughter and a son survived to adulthood; d. 3 March 1907 in Savannah, Ga, and was buried on the Tyendinaga Reserve near Deseronto, Ont.
Although it is difficult to assemble a balanced picture of Oronhyatekha’s life and career – biographies written during his lifetime are marred by hagiography and embellishment, much of which the subject propagated – it is still possible to present an outline of his achievements. Born into a Mohawk family on the Grand River, he learned early to take advantage of the resources at hand. In 1846–54 he attended the New England Company’s industrial school near the reserve, perfecting his English and learning the shoema
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Dr. Oronhyatekha (“Dr. O”), A National Historical Person
Dr. Oronhyatekha, also known by his baptismal name of Peter Martin, was born August 10, 1841 into the Mohawk nation at the Six Nations of Grand River near what is today Brantford, Ontario. He went to elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse, which was administered by the Anglican church through an organization called the New England Company (NEC). At age 10, Dr. O was sent to residential school at the Mohawk Institute at Grand River. There he met an Anglican missionary by the name of Reverend Abraham Nelles, who was to become his mentor and later, his chief adversary.
Upon graduation from the Mohawk Institute, Dr. O attained the position of shoemaker’s apprentice. However, a passing phrenologist assessed his skull and told him that he was destined for greater things and that he should pursue higher education. Consequently, Dr. O moved to New York state and took a job on a farm to earn money to enroll at Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. After a two-year sojourn at Wesleyan, Dr. O returned to Grand River to
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Oronhyatekha
Mohawk physician and scholar
Oronhyatekha (10 August 1841 – 3 March 1907), ("Burning Sky" or "Burning Cloud" in the Mohawk language, also carried the baptismal name Peter Martin), was a Mohawk physician, scholar, and a unique figure in the history of British colonialism. He was the first known aboriginal scholar at Oxford University; a successful CEO of a multinational financial institution; a native statesman; an athlete of international standing; and an outspoken champion of the rights of women, children, and minorities. He was once thought to be the first Native M.D. in Canada, having gotten his degree in 1866 from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine having studied at the Toronto School of Medicine, but Peter Edmund Jones (Ojibwa), from New Credit, has been documented as having graduated a few months before Oronhyatekha.[1][2] The fact that Oronhyatekha achieved these results during the Victorian era, when racism and pressure for First Nations peoples to assimilate were commonplace, has made him a figure approaching legend
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