Document 01: Exhibit #28. Backside coverpage of "Indian New England Before the Mayflower" by Howard S. Russell. Sold at the Swanton, Vermont "Tribal Center" by the group led by the late Homer St. Francis Sr., and now led by his daughter April St. Francis - Rushlow - Merrill. These "groups" proclaiming to being legitimately descendants of the Abenaki Ancestors, seem to have had to lean on other scholarly works such as from books such as "Dawnland Encounters" by Calloway, or this book by Howard S. Russell. The reason I think (of course, I could be completely wrong in my conclusions) that these alleged Abenaki groups cannot seem to give their own historical or genealogical record(s) (instead of leaning on and borrowing from these academic scholars, who write "from outside" the Abenaki culture, history, and genealogical foundations) is simply because these alleged reinvented Abenaki groups (the Vermont and New Hampshire "Abenaki Community" as these groups like to refer to themselves) very likely have had no foundation that does clearly and convincingly connects to the Abenaki People/ Ancestors. I am merely stating what I personally find that it is indeed perplexing, odd and strange that a group of self-proclaiming and self-promoting "Abenaki descendants alleged foundations of alleged having carried on Abenaki "heritage(s)", cannot/ and will not openly (without hesitation or protest) show and provide the merits and foundations of their own genealogical backgrounds and "heritages" that they seemingly have "appropriated," (without having to appropriate someone else's scholarly works to imply that the scholarly work of someone else) somehow applies to their alleged Abenaki ancestors historical, social or genealogical records.
The single mili-second (give or take a few months perhaps) that one begins to suspect, doubt and or confronts these alleged and re-invented Abenaki "groups" representatives/ "Chiefs" or "Speakers" and or their "membership" card-holder's "actual genealogical foundations", they scrabble around grabbing at "Wabanaki", "Eastern Woodlands", so-called "Traditional Core Values", and already these people of these alleged "Abenaki groups" here in Vermont and New Hampshire point at their beadworking, their Abenaki Language Revitalization "camps", and or their pounding out brown or black ash logs and or making ash splint baskets. They will say they are perpetuating an Abenaki "living culture". When the reality is questioned, they spew out their excuses i.e. "our ancestors were hiding in plain sight" or "We were targets of the Eugenics Progam". Really? ANYTHING to distort, to elude, to ignore the questions given to them all. They will do anything (even bury their heads in the dirt) other than confronting the real honest reality and truth that not 95% or even 25% percent of these people have not a foundation genealogically-speaking that they can or will show and provide to anyone, that they are legitimately of Abenaki descent. These "appropriations" of attempting to "save" the Abenaki language, of beadworking in "Wabanaki" or "Eastern Woodlands style", pounding ash logs and making ash splint basketmaking, or putting on presentations of Wabanaki/ Eastern Woodlands "Story-Telling," are recently acquired activities of these persons, in order to "imply" they are perpetuating something "from their ancestors." Hardly the truth of the matter when one begins to review, gather and study these particular groups/ people's genealogical and historical social records! Most 99% percent of these people within these alleged Abenaki groups here in Vermont and New Hampshire, were not raised by their relatives doing beadworking, basketmaking, or storytelling; etc. These tactic's are "window-dressing". I think it is yet another "illusionary distortion" these people create for the public, right along with the ribbon shirts, the beads, and the feathers (and the pony tails), to make the public assume that the group's (Inc.'s) alleging to being Abenaki, are indeed legitimate, when in fact documentarily they are not even remotely Abenakis from and of Vermont or New Hampshire ancestrally or contemporarily. Just ask for their genealogical documentation of being Abenaki "from their ancestors." Ask these groups and their "members"/ Card Holders who self proclaim and self-identify as being Western and or Eastern Abenaki, from what historical community of Abenakis do they come from. Inquire of these so-called "representatives" of the Vermont or New Hampshire Abenakis to show and provide the foundation documentarily as to why they claim to be Abenaki, and a person 99% percent of the time, will get that "Wall of Silence". One will be accused of perpetuating "Paper Genocide" and that one is a racist. Accusations will fly, that one who doubts, who questions, who inquires as to the merits of these alleged reinvented Abenaki groups and or persons, is "negative", has an alleged "progressive sickness"; etc.
In the end, there is no foundation, and no documentary evidence to show and provide that these people/groups can show that they are legitimately of Abenaki descent 95% percent of them (according to Charles Francis True Jr.). So they "use" and point to other scholarly work, in order to try and imply substantiation of their own created illusions and distortions of being Abenaki. Yet, no genealogical evidence from their ancestors is provided documentarily-speaking. I do find that a bit strange.
Document 02: Exhibit #28 Page 186. Underlined is the sentence, "The pleasant upper Connecticut Valley, except for a Squakheag or Sokoki village at Vernon just above the present Massachusetts line.
Document 03: Exhibit #28 Page 187 of"Indian New England Before the Mayflower" by Howard S. Russell. "There was a Cowassuck settlement at Newbury, was lightly inhabited." Again, they are speaking of a pre-1750 time-frame.
Document 04: Exhibit #28 Page 04. "Bulldozer Levels Marlboro Indian Dig." Dated October 01, 1980 of the Telegram Marlboro Bureau Newspaper by Herbert O'Connor.
Document 05: Exhibit #28 Page 05. "Do Indians Own the Common? City Parks Chief Wants a Powwow."
