Roadblocks to Recognition: The Struggle of Vermont's Abenaki Indians - Our World

By David Anderson / July 23, 2007 

Until the 1970's, it had long been assumed that the Abenaki Indians who once occupied much of  Vermont were gone for good. They had seemingly vanished, the victims of several centuries of colonial era landgrabbing, warfare, and endemic disease. Those that had survived were presumed to have moved on the greener pastures in Canada. But in the late 1970's individuals claiming to be the surviving descedent's of the area's original inhabitants began to surface, organizing as the St. Francis or Sokoki Band of Abenakis. The tribe was intially recognized by the state of Vermont, but a year later that recognition was rescinded. Ever since, members of the tribe have fought with state and federal officials over the question of legal recognition.

At stake was more than legitimacy, for tribal recognition comes vital government aid.  Last the month Carl J. Artman - assistant secretary for Indian Affairs - finalized the federal government's  decision to the group's request for recognition as an Indian tribe. The government claims that the group failed to fulfill the requirements necessary to attain tribal recognition. But are these requirements reasonable considering the conditions faced by native Americans in the region over the past few centuries?

The group failed to meet four of the criteria necessary for granting tribal recognition, according to the statement issued by Artman. According to Artman the group did not show,  "...that external observers have identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900." It also failed the fulfill that requirement that "...a predominant portion of the petitioning group has comprised a distinct community since historical times." Artman further notes that the petitioning group has not maintained political influence over its members as an autonomous entity since historical times, another requirement for regognition. Finally, the group failed to show that its "...members descend from a historical Indian tribe." 

But members of the tribe and its advocates have long argued that the oppressive conditions faced by their ancestors make it impossible to fulfill these particular government requirement. Most Americans are well aware of the deplorable conditions endured by native Americans  during the formative years of our nation. But Native Americans living in Vermont continued to face serious threats well into the 20th century. The Ku Klux Clan operated in the Green Mountain state until the 1920's. And a state mandated eugenics targeted Indian populations for sterilization just prior to World War II. Indians living in Vermont also faced persistent racism and discrimination, as they did all over the country. So the few remaining members of the tribe spent much of the 19th Century and early 20th Century living below the radar in Vermont. It was only in the 1970's that native Americans in Vermont felt safe to publicly reclaim their shared heritage as Abenaki.

The government's requirements for tribal recognition seem unjust in the face of historical fact. Many of New England's tribes were well on their way to marginalization by the time the United States was born. Such tribes never  had the opportunity to establish reservations or negotiate treaties with relevant state and federal goverments. Therefore they could not establish a continuous homeland or a continuous tribal community. Divided, many found it safer to hide their Indian roots. Indeed, Vermont's indigenous population they did what many other indigenous peoples in North and South America have done in the face of adversity: They adapted in order to survive. They changed their way of life in order to blend in. The government's polcies do not recognize the sad fact that America's native peoples were often forced to reject their own identity. 

Does the fact that Vermont's Indians were unable to live together, establish a political community, or keep records to establish a continuous lineage make them any less of a tribe?  The government's regulations appear to favor tribes which were able to, despite all odds, to persevere as a community to present date. How many of America's Indian tribes really had the option of existing as a community in 1900? Those that did found themselves living under deplorable conditions on reservations. Oppressive conditions had led many tribes to physically disband by 1900. But that does not mean that the tribal identity was forgotten by future generations. Rather it was hidden away until it was safe. One would like to think that it is safe now. We as a nation should be prepared to acknowledge our own history, and to rectify past wrongs in the name of future greatness.

With tribal recognition comes many benefits. According to the Department of the Interior, "Indian Affairs programs support and assist federally recognized tribes in the development of tribal governments, strong economies, and quality programs. The scope of Indian Affairs programs is extensive and includes a range of services comparable to the programs of state and local government, e.g., education, social services, law enforcement, courts, real estate services, agriculture and range management, and resource protection." Around 30 years ago Vermont's reconstituted Abenaki Indian tribe asked the government for recognition. It appears as though our government has yet to to terms with the harsh realities that have plagued Native American life in this country. 

Our World is published weekly by Gather Political Correspondent David Anderson. It seeks to bring otherwise overlooked information of importance into the public eye. Please join in an enlightening and positive discussion of this week’s topic. You can read all of David's correspondent pieces under the tag "live from New Hampshire".

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977063371