One day, while residing outside the "Tribal Office" in my own 1975 Dodge van with my Walker hound dog, I decided to throw out alot of my previous research records, of which consisted of documents pertaining to my 1st adoptive family, the Kingsley's whom horribly abused my twin and I when we were younger, etc. I didn't see any reason at the time, to hold onto the material evidence. I was living in Swanton, Vermont, I had a "new" life road to experience. I was 26 or 27 years of age, and I didn't want to keep lugging that material around in a box like carrying some green monkey on my back, into my future. I thought better of throwing some of the "stuff" away. Phenix Hearn, whom I have mentioned previously in a blog, lived in a small mobile home which was put up on blocks, next to the "Back Barn" and so after the Tribal Office would close and people would go home, Phenix and I would "hang out" and talk/socialize. One day, I felt at ease to mention my own pervious judicial involvement of some years before, in my hometown, prior to relocating to Swanton, Vermont and thinking nothing of sharing such information with a friend. How very stupid and naive I was at that age. I trusted so easily in people.
Entering the Tribal Office soon thereafter, Michael Delaney, the then Tribal Judge as Homer appointed him to be, decided that I was to take this "reporter" fella out to the "Back Barn" where Dorcus Churchill (the new coordinator for the Artist Coop-Trading Post) worked, and have this man, take photographs of the artist's works. Bob Wells, the Elder would accompany me in this task. Going into the Back Barn as they called it, Bob noticed a label on a plastic retangular container which read, "Medicine Bags $6.00". Bob Wells requested I remove the adhesive label completely, that it would be inappropriate to "sell" medicine bags, for a gathering of People coming in for the upcoming Grand Opening for the Artist CO-OP/ Trading Post to be held on October 21, 1994 at 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. As I was changing the label on this particular plastic container to simply display/ show merely "bags $6.00", Phenix Hearn walked in the door of the Back Barn, saw what I was doing, quickly and promptly turned around and left, without saying a word to either the reporter, me, or Bob Wells. Later, while at Doris Minckler's visiting with them and the Obomsawin's (whom were living out back of the Minckler's place at the time) Michael Delaney called up Doris's place, and requested I go into his office and discuss a matter. When I arrived there and entered the office, several people were in attendence. Phenix Hearn being one of them, Dee Brightstar, Mark Mitchell, John Lawyer a.k.a. Grey Wolf, and Bob Wells (who quickly and unhesitantingly defended my integrity and character throughout this "meeting") was there too. Immediately, Mike Delaney began asking me about my previous involvement with the Judicial System out in my hometown of Port Angeles, Washington. What had happened, etc. Before I could get a word in edge wise, he began shouting at me, proclaiming that he had telephone'd the Clallam County Court and recieved all the information as to my alledged guilt and (according to him) my conviction of said charges. I began to explain. Then he demanded that I hand him my Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi "membership card", which I handed to him. He quickly pulled out a pair of sissors from his desk drawer and promptly cut the card in two, putting it into a folder. He informed me "that I was in Indian Country" and they could do whatever they wanted to. Then I was told to immediately leave Swanton, Vermont and never show my face in town again. Phenix Hearn and/ or Dee Brightstar had told them of my non-conviction information regarding a judicial misdemeanor offense of some years previous, of which obviously these people were simply "using" to hurt me (but knew nothing about as to why I was charged or any truthful details of such case). They simply had been, unbeknownst to me at the time, "against me". Looking back on this time frame of Oct. 1994, I can see the events "connect". Dee Brightstar was against me because I wouldn't pay her more "rent" above and beyond what we had agreed upon; Phenix Hearn was against me because Al Greyhawk up in Athens, ME had slanderously badmouthed me saying I had said things against these people in Swanton, Vermont; and Michael Delaney was against me the very minute he heard from Phenix Hearn that I had manipulated the adhesive label on the container that held his wife Ina's Naugahyde Leather car seat made medicine bags. John Lawyer and Mark Mitchell were in on this situation while my "membership card" was cut by Delaney, perhaps simply because they were "allies" with Dee Brightstar; etc. (See in another blog Abenaki Newsletter of Feb. 1995 "Chief's Corner" where Homer St. Francis mentioned "And with all the back-stabbers and cut-throats out there himself and those who worked with him to my thinking, the less the better). I was traumatized by their sudden angrily harsh verbal treatment of me at that time. When I was leaving the Tribal Office per their request, John Lawyer a.k.a. Grey Wolf had got into his vehicle and followed my van all the way to St. Albans, Vermont and at a stop sign, while behind my vehicle, got out of his vehicle and walked maliciously yelling towards my vehicle, loudly threatening to do bodily harm to me. I went to Ed Verge's place in Island Pond, Vermont and arranged to rent a room from him thankfully, all the while wiping the tears out of my face. I stayed in Island Pond during the cold snowy months of November through near the next spring time of the following February or March of 1995. While there, residing with Ed Verge, kind as the man was towards me, I met Melody Nunn who claimed to be Micmac Indian.
Later, I found out that such particular rectangular plastic box of car seat leather "medicine bags" had been made by none other than Mike Delaney's wife, Ina Delaney; and in his anger towards my manipulating the adhesive label on that container, Mike Delaney, with the help of Phenix Hearn and Dee Brightstar, "collected" if you will, "as much information as they could discover about my person", to use it against me, to "remove me", take my "membership card" away, and in simply terms "throw me out" of their group with as strong a reason(s) as they could. They were clever. But what legitimate Native Community takes a Tribal member's status/membership card away from that person, simply because that person has a Judicial history?! Lots of Native People have had far worse Judicial histories and even convictions, even Homer St. Francis himself, and they were not treated as I was. This is why I know that the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi "Group" as they want to call themselves, is merely a SOCIAL GROUP, a MICKEY MOUSE CLUB, and NOT a legitimate Native American Community of people, led by or whose tribal official's such as Mike Delaney acting as a so called Tribal Judge, were geniunely legitimate in their self created and self promoted "title's" of being anything. I left Swanton, Vermont, having my "membership card" that was signed by Michael Delaney himself, get cut in two. That told me those "membership cards" didn't mean anything at all to anyone except to those who were issuing them to everyone and anyone who these people thought they could manipulate, use, and promote this "group" into alledgely being legitimate, when in factuality they were not. Yet, I did not simply "walk away" from this group of people. I was not malicious, and I was not going to tuck tail and disappear either.
