The Seigneurs Trust - Initiatives and Causes

One of the the Trust's first orders of business was to focus on educational opportunities. Through the cooperation and coordination of the Jersey International Center for Advanced Studies (JICAS) the Trust was able to coordinate a graduate level scholarship opportunity for American Students to perform archeological field work at a Neolithic Dolmen for three weeks. 

As the Trust's partnerships increase the focus will be on coordinating students from the Channel Islands to attend courses in the United States.  

Jae Poindexter is a senior at Texas State University, double majoring in Anthropology and French. Jae plans on finishing her degree at eh University of Rennes, in France. Jae is descended from George Poindexter, the first immigrant from the Poingdestre family in Jersey to arrive in the United States in Virginia in 1692. 

The Trust's founding Seigneurs first projects prior to the Trusts inception were related to repatriating documents and artifacts back to the respective Island's Archives for preservation and/or display. The Trust is pleased to continue this work through an annual endowment to each Island's Archive, allowing for the Archives to continue purchasing and repatriating items they deem of significant cultural or historical significance to the peoples of the Bailiwicks. 

The Channel Islands native language was regional dialects of Norman French. Over time these dialects were replaced with modern English and French, with only an estimated few thousand native speakers. The Council is working with the Islands heritage groups on funding local Island language initiatives, access to translations, and connecting colleges and universities with course material for students of French language studies. 

The Seigneurs Trust is delighted to partner with the Jersey and Guernsey language teams to find opportunities to work collaboratively to preserve these important languages for future generations. 

Jerripedia.org is a wealthy of knowledge of the Island’s history that’s accessible to anyone. The Council helps cover costs of maintaining this site so the information remains accessible and updated.