Abenaki

Her decades of work aims to tell the truth about Indigenous peoples in the education system, and to dispel racism, she told Vermont Public last year. Her exhibition is called “The Children Have to Hear Another Story.”

“Of Baskets and Borers” weaves the stories of early 20th century Abenaki basket-makers with contemporary art, and examines the environmental changes that are threatening the very existence of the craft.

Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations said in a written statement last week that Vermont state-recognized tribes are contributing to the “loss of decision-making power over our ancestral territory, the Ndakina.”

Abenaki and other Indigenous perspectives took center stage in the nation’s capital last weekend when the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band headlined the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center.

Two young citizens of Odanak First Nation described what they call Indigenous identity theft, particularly in Vermont, at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Abenaki Councils of Odanak and W8linak bought a billboard in Times Square to highlight the topic.

Two Abenaki First Nations headquartered in Canada are contesting the legitimacy of Vermont’s state-recognized tribes. How are Vermont lawmakers responding?

Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations have asked for an investigation into Vermont’s state recognition process, which lawmakers approved in 2010. And last month, the First Nations also sent a letter to Vermont educators, requesting that they stop using information sourced from state-recognized tribes.

The group now has just two state-appointed commissioners, after Patrick Standen resigned earlier this month.

"Recognized" is a special series from Brave Little State about Abenaki peoples and the ongoing dispute about who belongs to their communities.

Darryl Leroux is a French-Canadian scholar who studies white settler identities. He published a paper last month in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal focusing on claims to indigeneity in Vermont and New Hampshire.