Councillor Dale Benoit

Dale is a direct descendant of the past Algonquin family Benoit Chiefs of Pikwakanagan and the granddaughter of an Algonquin Grandmother, a respected medicine woman of Pikwakanagan. Born and raised in Pikwakanagan, Dale was connected to the land from a very young age, engaging in trapping, fishing, and harvesting birds, berries, and medicines. Like many, she attended Indian School in Pikwakanagan, where culture, traditions, and language were not accepted.

Today, Dale is a strong advocate for the full jurisdiction, stewardship, and sovereignty of her people over their land and resources, emphasizing the deep connection between the Algonquin people and the land. An avid land user, she is a licensed trapper, big game harvester, fisher, and harvester of birch bark and medicines—finding strength in her connection with her ancestors through these practices.

Dale firmly supports AOPFN’s full management of membership, the Land Back movement, and ensuring AOPFN has a voice and a seat at all decisions made concerning traditional territory. Her extensive experience spans various aspects of natural resource management, enforcement of Algonquin laws, community justice, emergency management, youth mentorship on the land, past Land Claim negotiations, and fostering a strong community connection.

She carries immense pride—pride in the Algonquin Nation, in its culture, language, and traditions, in being the original landowners and stewards of the land, in honoring and representing the ancestors, in the wisdom of Elders, in the strength of youth today, and in the future generations yet to come.