BIA denies Abenaki petition

Written by Jedd Kettler

Thursday, 28 June 2007

SWANTON: The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced on Friday, June 22, their final determination not to acknowledge the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis as a federally recognized Indian tribe.A BIA press release said the band’s petition – representing 1,171 members – did not satisfy four of the BIA’s seven criteria for federal acknowledgment. An appeal can be filed with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals within 90 days.St. Francis/Sokoki Chief April St. Francis-Merrill said this week the tribe is still undecided on whether it will seek an appeal.

“At this point the Tribal Council needs to discuss what we’re going to do, and have a meeting with the community and find out what they want to do,” St. Francis-Merrill said.Federal recognition acknowledges a tribe’s eligibility to receive federal services and to enjoy other privileges of federally recognized tribes.

There are more than 561 Indian tribes recognized by the federal government, but federal recognition has proven to be a difficult hurdle for many tribes, particularly those in the eastern part of the United States. Federal recognition has been granted through the petitioning process only 16 times since it was established in 1978.

The St. Francis/Sokoki band’s original letter of intent to petition for federal status was filed in April 1980, according to BIA records.“This has been a 30-year process,” St. Francis-Merrill said.In November 2005, the BIA released proposed findings for denial of the petition.

While the decision was not a surprise for some, it is still frustrating for band members for a number of reasons“I’m disappointed,” St. Francis-Merrill said.She and others are still waiting for a complete copy of the BIA’s decision, but from a preliminary reading, it appears to have changed little from a proposed decision issued in November 2005.“It sounds like they just went by what the (Vermont) Attorney General’s Office said and ignored what we sent,” St. Francis-Merrill said this week.The AG submitted a more than 200-page response to the Abenaki petition, which laid out arguments against the band’s acknowledgment.Calls to BIA officials and the AG’s office had not been returned to the County Courier as of press deadline.

St. Francis - Merrill said she is frustrated that BIA officials apparently did not contact any Vermont archeologists and anthropologists in reviewing the materials.“I’m wondering why nobody from that field in the State of Vermont was contacted,” she said.While the federal recognition process is described as an objective process, many petitioning tribes have complained of preferential treatment for some and the need for resources beyond most groups’ means.“They tell you it’s not money, it’s not politics. I’m not convinced,” St. Francis-Merrill said.

VCNAA Chairman Mark Mitchell, and his predecessor, FNWSU Director of Indian Education Jeff Benay, agreed.“There are such politics involved,” Benay said. Both pointed to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts, which was granted federal recognition status in February, after a similar 30-year effort.That tribe’s petition languished for years. It was only after $8 million was spent to bring in outside expert genealogists, anthropologists, legal representation, and public relations consultants that the petition began to gain traction, according to tribal sources quoted in the Cape Cod Times.

In contrast, the Abenaki worked on a shoestring budget, often reliant on volunteer after-hours efforts.“They worked their tails off,” Benay said.Benay and St. Francis-Merrill also pointed to the resources that the AG’s office put into its lengthy response to their petition.“It’s discouraging. The State of Vermont got to spend umpteen thousand dollars -- They’ve got money at their fingertips, and we don’t. And it’s taxpayer money,” St. Francis-Merrill said.Benay said, “If the Abenaki had had the money that the State had spent just on its response ... Whatever the State did spend, it was a lot more than the Abenaki had to spend.”The Massachusetts tribe has made clear they hope to open a casino, which served to attract the majority of that funding from real estate and casino developers, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Vermont’s Abenaki have repeatedly said they do not want to pursue gaming if they are federally recognized, and the St. Francis/Sokoki petition did not attract such investment.“Here in Vermont, the Abenaki themselves are not even interested in gaming,” Benay said. “One, the Abenaki weren’t interested (in gaming). Two, the Legislature wasn’t. Three, the Governor wasn’t. So there were no groups coming up to the Abenaki ... They weren’t going to invest in the Abenaki.”The specter of federal recognition – and fears of casinos and land claims – has long been held up in opposition to state recognition and may have muddied questions of implementing the arts labeling portion of state recognition, signed into law in May 2006.

That bill, S.117, gave minority status to Abenaki people, opened up Native scholarships and other opportunities to Abenaki students and codified the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs.The bill also ostensibly allowed for the legal labeling of Abenaki crafts and arts as Native-made, but disagreement between the VCNAA and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office arose this winter over how arts labeling goals can legally be achieved.

Mitchell said he would like to move beyond this question to deal with other important aspects of the VCNAA’s purpose, promoting social welfare, and economic and social empowerment of Vermont’s Native community. If a positive message can be gleaned from the BIA’s decision last week, Mitchell suggested that perhaps State officials can move beyond past fears to address real issues in state recognition.“Now that we have some closure (on the federal recognition) ... I guess now is the state willing to sit down?” Mitchell said. “It’s a great opportunity for the State. I have to look at it that way. Is the state now willing to negotiate with the Commission, so we can do our established authority? ... The opportunity is theirs now.”

For the Abenaki in northwestern Vermont, Mitchell said he hopes they remain politically active, despite last week’s announcement by the BIA.“It’s time we unify as a political base,” Mitchell said.“Now we’ll determine, I guess, whether S.117 really is a symbolic gesture,” he added.

As important as gaining federal recognition would be, and as frustrating as last week’s announcement was, St. Francis-Merrill said it does not change the reality of Abenaki existence.“It’s never going to change who I am or who my people are,” St. Francis-Merrill said. “We’re still here, and we’re still going to continue to do what we need to do for our children’s future.”Benay said that in the larger context of the survival of the Abenaki as a people in Vermont, last week’s decision by the BIA will be a footnote.

“The resiliency of these people, who despite setbacks, and despite the odds, continue to exist in 2007,” Benay said. “When the textbooks are written ... they will be about these remarkably resilient people. That is what I think this story will be.”

http://www.thecountycourier.com/

To read the BIA's Summary under the Criteria and evidence for final determination against federal acknowledge of the ST Francis/Sokaki of Abenakis of Vermont go to:

http://www.doi.gov/bia/Final_determination_Abenaki.pdf