![]() ![]() We’re using the more Anglicized “AH-ben-ACK-ee.”Ĭourtesy This is the image at the center of Odanak First Nation's protest over an exhibit curated by the Vermont nonprofit Alnôbaiwi. Some people say it uh-BEN-uh-KEE, with the French pronunciation. Both Nations are headquartered in Quebec, and they’re both Western Abenaki. They’re called Odanak First Nation and Wôlinak First Nation. They have a very different type of recognition: federal recognition, from the Canadian government. ![]() What you might not know is that there are Abenaki First Nations north of the border, in Canada. The groups you’re probably most familiar with are those that have been recognized by our state as Abenaki tribes. Odanak's government also took issue with the use of the photograph.Īnd here’s one more twist: These protesters, here to take a stand against a history exhibit dedicated to Abenaki heritage? They’re Abenaki.Ĭlaude Panadis Jr.: We all came from Odanak just to make sure that we can see what’s going on and see if we can’t get our voices heard.Įlodie Reed: If you live in Vermont, you’ve probably heard of the Abenaki - they’re the original caretakers of the land now known as Vermont and New Hampshire, and also Quebec, Maine and Massachusetts. Those citizens were there to voice their displeasure over the use of the photograph on the wall, which they say shows their ancestors. Vermont Public Odanak First Nation citizens from Quebec and Albany, New York visit the exhibit inside the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington, Vermont on May 17. It was curated by a Vermont nonprofit, Alnôbaiwi, which says it’s dedicated to preserving Vermont Abenaki heritage. They’re here to protest an exhibit inside the building called “The Abenaki: Vermont’s First People.” Richard Witting: I mean, he's the number one land grabber.Įlodie Reed: Most of the people gathered in this parking lot drove down from Canada or up from Albany, New York.īut they’re not actually here to take issue with Ethan Allen. Richard Witting: So the Allens, they were the lead family who, like, essentially surveyed most of the land in Vermont and like, acquired it, and then resold it. Ethan Allen is a celebrated figure in Vermont’s colonial history - or, not-so-celebrated. ![]() Philip Brett: Her grandfather is in the picture.Įlodie Reed: One afternoon this spring, a dozen people form a circle in a dusty parking lot, hunched against a chilly breeze.Ĭlaude Panadis Jr.: It’s cold! It snowed at home this morning.Įlodie Reed: They’re standing outside the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington. More and more people have been speaking out. Some would rather avoid acknowledging it's there in the first place.īut in the last couple years, it's gotten harder to ignore. ![]() Many people don't really like talking about it. I’m Josh Crane.įor the past 20 years, there's been this controversy in Vermont.īut for most of that time, it’s felt sort of hush-hush. Josh Crane: From Vermont Public and the NPR Network, this is Brave Little State. Now, the First Nations in Canada are calling for a reexamination of Vermont's recognition process. And that matters, because there is power, authority and money at stake. Ĭhapter Three: Today, the state and the groups it recognizes as Abenaki tribes have a different definition of what it means to be Indigenous, compared to many Indigenous Nations in the U.S. But recent evidence casts doubt on this narrative. A key aspect of the groups' argument is that Abenaki peoples hid for nearly 200 years in Vermont, in part to avoid statewide eugenics policies. But about a decade ago, Vermont set up its own process and recognized four tribes: the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, the Elnu Abenaki Tribe, the Koasek Traditional Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation and the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuck Abenaki Nation. Ĭhapter Two: That disputed history is partly why Vermont’s groups failed to get federal recognition. Chapter One: Two Abenaki First Nations, headquartered in Quebec, contest the legitimacy of the groups that the state of Vermont recognizes as Abenaki tribes - a conflict that has its roots in disputed historical narratives. ![]()
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