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Chair steps down from Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs

A photo of a person at a table
David Littlefield
/
Vermont Public File
Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs Chair Rich Holschuh is pictured here in March 2023. His term as commissioner was set to expire in February of 2026.

A prominent advocate for Vermont’s state-recognized tribes has stepped down from the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (VCNAA).

Rich Holschuh has served as the chair of the VCNAA since 2022, and his term as commissioner was set to expire in February of 2026.

He previously sat on the commission between 2016 and 2020.

In an email last week, Holschuh wrote that his personal and professional life required him to be closer to home in the Brattleboro area.

“I am not in the least moving away from my advocacy work on behalf of bettering relationships between our shared homelands and all who dwell here now (human and other-than-human),” he wrote. “Rather, I trust that this will open space to better contribute toward that much-neglected work of seeking balance and respect among us all. Our Mother and All of Our Relations make this request of us.”

Holschuh is a member of Elnu, one of the four groups recognized by Vermont as Abenaki tribes in 2011 and 2012.

And he’s been a defender of that state recognition process, which has been criticized by the Abenaki First Nations of Odanak and Wôlinak for legitimizing groups of people who are not Indigenous. 

Part of that state recognition process was 2010 legislation establishing the VCNAA. It’s tasked with overseeing policies and programs for Indigenous peoples in Vermont.

Three seats are currently open. According to statute, the governor appoints commissioners from a list of people compiled by the Division of Historic Preservation and recommended by “Native American communities in Vermont.” The law states that members of state-recognized tribes receive priority as appointees.

“The Commission is currently exploring recruitment strategies to encourage a diverse pool of applicants,” wrote Breanna Sheehan, the administrative director for the VCNAA, in an email. “While it's always difficult to lose the expertise of a commissioner, we are excited and grateful for the opportunity to bring new voices and perspectives to the VCNAA’s ongoing efforts in supporting and serving Vermont’s Indigenous population.”

The governor’s office confirmed it was currently working with the Division of Historic Preservation to identify candidates, but declined to provide a specific timeline.

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Elodie is a reporter and producer for Vermont Public. She previously worked as a multimedia journalist at the Concord Monitor, the St. Albans Messenger and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, and she's freelanced for The Atlantic, the Christian Science Monitor, the Berkshire Eagle and the Bennington Banner. In 2019, she earned her MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Southern New Hampshire University.
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