The Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (VCNAA) has recommended giving state recognition to the Nulhegan Abenaki of the Northeast Kingdom and the Elnu Abenaki in southeast Vermont.
The recommendation is now being passed along to Vermont's General Assembly for final review. Members of the Commission and Sen.Vince Illuzzi,R-Essex-Orleans, along with legislative sponsors, supporters, and leaders of the two tribes, will gather in Montpelier in the Cedar Creek Room at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Jan. 19, to hold a press conference to discuss the results of the Commission's decisions.
According to the commission, tribes are required to meet a series of criteria outlined in Act 107, which was signed into law in May 2010. The new law created a process by which tribes may present applications to the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs for review.
The current assessments incorporated the findings of expert review panelists and public testimony at hearings last month. Based upon this assessment, the Commission found that the Nulhegan and Elnu tribes successfully met the nine criteria contained in Act 107.
The commission has one application that is still pending further review and they expect to receive an application from the St. Francis/Sokoki Band at their Jan. 19 meeting.
Sen. Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, was one of the co-sponsors of Act 107, and supported efforts to make Vermont's tribal designation process conform to the requirements of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“We are very pleased with the work of the Commission and look forward to their recommendations,” Miller said last week. “We appreciate their careful deliberations according to the legislation passed last year outlining a process for tribal recognition.”
Besides giving Abenaki the right to market their arts and crafts as “Native American made,” state recognition would also give tribes access to federal funding for education and other benefits.
“We're very happy to see this new process working,” said VCNAA Chairman Luke Willard. “The questions and concerns that stalled state recognition for Vermont's tribes in the past are now being addressed.”
Those questions mainly concerned the fear of land grabs or casinos on tribal land. Those concerns were addressed in Act 107.
According to Act 107: “State-recognized Native American Indian tribes and their members will continue to be subject to all laws of the state, and recognition shall not be construed to create any basis or authority for tribes to establish or promote any form of prohibited gambling activity or to claim any interest in land or real estate in Vermont.”
As for the question of genealogical documentation, Willard said that “it's one of the criteria, and two tribes have complied to date. I have no doubt there will be more.”
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 2,400 Native Americans who live in Vermont, and around half of that number are Vermonters who can claim to be direct descendants of the Western Abenaki tribes that once inhabited all of Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as parts of western Maine, southern Quebec, and upstate New York.
The Elnu is a band of about 50 largely family members dedicated to the teaching and study of Abenaki culture. In recent year, they have held encampments to both learn about and to demonstrate how their ancestors lived at the time that Europeans arrived in North America. Elnu members were part of the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial celebration in 2009 and held an encampment at Jamaica State Park in 2o10.
“Helping all the Abenaki is helping us all in making Vermont a better state. I am glad that I had the privilege to be part of this process” said state Rep. Michel Consejo, D-Sheldon Springs.
“We hope that the fairness and promptness of the process will encourage other Native communities to step forward,” Willard said. “I've said it before and I'll say it again, 'No Abenaki left behind.'”