August 20th, 1994 Happenings.

Unity of Councils Agreement was signed in Evansville, VT. This agreement was signed by the tribal leaders of Abenaki bands at that time bringing them into Unity as the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation. Homer St. Francis was named Grand Chief and Walter Watso Assoc. Grand Chief. The Unity Agreement was signed by: Ray Lussier - Grand Council of the Allied Bands of Southern New England, Roland Demers - Sherbrooke Aboriginal Community Council, Pierre Heroux Richards - Sorel Aboriginal Community Council, Ray Milano - Athens Council, Richard Ray Hunt - White Bison Abenaki Council of New Hampshire (one of Nancy Cruger's created and promoted group creations), ???? - Empire State Council of NY, Howard F Knight - Northeast Woodlands Coos/Cowasuck of North America, Walter Watso - Odanak, Quebec, Canada.
Witnesses: Emerson Garfield - Cowasuck/Coos band, John Lawyer - St. Francis/Sokoki band, Roger Lucas - Cowasuck/Coos band, Brian Lemois - Cowasuck band, Darrel Larocque - St.Francis/Sokoki band, Melody Nunn - Cowasuck/Coos band (really? I was told by her own self, in the winter of 1994 or spring of 1995 while up at Ed Verge's place-whom she was "seeing" at the time, that she was Mik'maq; not Cowasuck/Coos) , Phil Thibault - St. Francis/Sokoki band, Ina Delany - St. Francis/Sokoki band, Phil Martin - Cowasuck/Coos band Mass, Harry Shover - Cowasuck/Coos band, Nancy Lemois - Cowasuck band, Phenix Hearn - St. Francis/Sokoki band (really? she herself told me that "she was of Creek Indian descent from West Virginia"; not St. Francis/Sokoki Abenaki Indian), Edward Verge - Abenaki Nation NE VT.

I "almost" forgot to mention these lovely Abenaki plastic license plates for one's automobile. I "registered" my 1975 Dodge van, and bought one of these license plates for, I think, each about $10.00 dollars US, in Swanton, Vermont from Homer St. Francis in late May 1994, just before the Abenaki Heritage Weekend.

I drove my 1975 Dodge van over to Homer's place that very afternoon, intending to put these on my van, and then driving over to the Highgate Airport where they were having their event. I figured hey, why not. I had the Sovereign Abenaki of Missisquoi Membership Card, so why shouldn't my ol' Dodge van become 'sovereign' too?!

But that was never to become reality. Thomas Obomsawin and his friend Larry from Louisiana, they came walking down the street and told me not to put them on my vehicle. It would cause too much trouble, they continued to tell me. I guess "Abenaki Sovereignty" is only meant for some automobiles and not others. Wonder whatever happened to the money I spent on those "plates"? I do know, that years later, I sold the Abenaki License Plate on eBay.com for a good sum of money to some woman down south of New Hampshire. She probably has it above her bathroom toilet.

A Couple more Newspaper Articles from the Littleton Courier in July 1994

The first article, dated July 13, 1994 is in regards to Donna Charlebois (her married name at the time), wherein she too self proclaims to being Abenaki. They never did provide any evidence of their claims that the particular archeological dig in North Haverhill, New Hampshire contained Abenaki remains.

The second article from the Front page of the Courier newspaper. Notice in the 2nd paragraph, that Remich Park will look like an authentic Indian Village with natives in traditional dress during the two day event. That likely would have been the group led by Roger Longtoe, now calling themselves "The El-Nu Band of Cowasuck Abenaki". They were and are a re-enactor group of people who have reinvented themselves into being Abenaki. This article goes on to state that "Professor John Moody, known for his extensive study of native history, and public interview with native elders....." Really?, and what did his alledged work amount to, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs took a good careful examination of John Moody's so called extensive studies and interviews of native elders? Well, you can read the conclusion of this, when I get to the BIA's Recongnition conclusions later on. It will be posted for sure in the very near future.

In this article they mention that the Jesuits took away the Abenaki drum and only in May 1994 was the Abenaki drum returned to the Abenaki. My question is, if the Abenaki could build one drum, why couldn't they replace the first one, that was alledgedly taken away from them the first time?!

Ah, and then we begin to "see" another facet of Nancy Lee (Millette) Cruger's methodology/patterns. Here we see that the NH Archaelogical Society has declared the week of July 15, 1994 as Archaelogy Week in conjunction with the Pow-wow event that Nancy Cruger created and promoted. And she, herself, the first of many that she seeks out and obtains from the N.H. Gov.'s Office.....a "Gov's Proclamation" declaring the weekend Native American Cultural Weekend. This Proclamation was given to Homer St. Francis by Councilor Ray Burton. I guess it was a good Indian Trade eh. Nancy Cruger got a "Membership Card" from Homer, and he got a piece of paper from the Governor of New Hampshire!

Oh and there is Walter Watso from Odanak, Quebec, Canada. That man was putting the Odanak Seal of approval making all kinds of people "Abenaki Artisans"; etc. I have mine hanging up in a frame on my bathroom wall above the toilet !! I wonder if Odanak's Abenaki People honestly and truely knew what REALLY was happening down south?!

A little more about what went on in July 1994

July 16th-17th, 1994 at Remich Park Weekend Pow-wow was created and promoted by the Littleton Town of N.H. Promoter Nancy Lee Millette – Cruger. Nancy Millette took a photograph of her grandfather Reginald Hunt (son of Flora Eunice Ingerson and Henry Otis Hunt), and while at the July 16th-17th 1994 Littleton, N.H. weekend Remick Park Pow-wow event was being held, she showed Homer St. Francis and Michael Delaney (Homer’ Tribal Judge) the photograph of her grandfather Reginald Hunt. Homer St. Francis allegedly stated, “that someone had jumped the fence” when he was shown the photograph, since Nancy Millette showed him the likeness of her grandfather Reginald Hunt and Homer, himself, as “proof” of her alleged Abenaki ancestry. She was given a Missisquoi Abenaki Tribal Card by Michael Delaney (Homer’ Tribal Judge). Nancy Millette got the idea of showing Homer St. Francis the photograph of her grandfather Reginald Hunt seemingly when she witnessed Homer St. Francis give Newt Washburn a "membership card, after having had his picture taken with Newton Washburn on September 29th, 1993 in the Thayer's Inn Hotel while visiting Littleton, New Hampshire. By gosh, if all it took to get a Abenaki membership card from Homer was to show a relative who looked similar to Homer, Nancy had her picture of her Grandfather Reginald Hunt to show him, and she could get a "Abenaki Membership Card" too. Nancy Lee Millette was “feeding into” Homer’s ego and he told his Tribal Judge to give her a “Membership Card”, but the photograph of her Grandfather is hardly clear and convincing evidence that she or any of her ancestors were of [Koasek] Abenaki descent. Later, Nancy Millette was made a "Diplomatic Ambassador of the Abenaki Nation" or "Representative" of the Homer St. Francis Group for the State of New Hampshire, and got a "Card" to reflect this position as well.

Newton Washburn, a brown ash basket maker, had a small basketmaking shop along side his house there in Bethlehem, N.H. down in the hollow. Nancy Millette - Cruger stopped by as I was talking with Newt one day. She inquired if I would be her "firekeeper" to one of her Pow-wow events in Twin Mountain, N.H. as Littleton, N.H. declined allowing it to be held at Remick Park again alledgedly due to "lack of parking". I think it had to do more with "her greed" and their "losses" due to previously held events. Here nor there, whatever the reason(s), I had retrospectively-speaking, agreed to help her out at the event. It was only later that I began to sense that the math just didn't add up, and her "stories" were not factual in reality.

This photographic duplicate is the one of which I speak of is shown here, borrowed from Newt himself, which had sat on a mantel of the wall in his basketmaking shop. On the left in this photo is the late (now deceased) Homer St. Francis Sr. and Newton Washburn. Newton Washburn also carried one of Homer's "Cards", for a time.

July 16th - 17th, 1994 Littleton Remick Park Pow-wow

On July 16th, 1994, myself and others from Swanton, Vermont's "Abenaki" drove to Littleton, N.H. and into Remick Park above the Town's main street, where Nancy Lee (nee: Millette) Cruger had organized a first time Pow-wow event for the Town.

A year before, Joseph Bruchac, author, published a book entitled "Fox Song" copyrighted in 1993. It was a book for children, about a character named Jamie and her Grama Bowman. The synopsis of the book goes like this. "Keep your eye's open," Jamie hears her Grama Bowman say. "The knowing of some things comes when your older." Whether Grama Bowman is showing Jamie how to peel birch bark in the spring sun to make baskets, or how to hunt for the winter tracks of Wokwses the Fox, or how to sing the Welcoming song of her Abenaki people, every moment they spend together opens Jamie to a new world. Then one morning Grama Bowman is gone. But Jamie's quiet walk in the woods tells her that her grama is still very near. Grama Bowman has left Jamie her world-- a place where Jamie will never be alone. Inspired by a story from his own family, Joseph Bruchac's first picture book is a tale of the intuitive understanding between the young and the old. The beauty of the natural world is captured in Paul Morin's warm, shimmering paintings, making Fox Song a book that is as familiar and loving as a visit with a friend.

As you will soon realize by carefully reading and examining further documentary evidence , Nancy Lee (nee: Millette) Cruger, herself, began to invent herself into being Abenaki, transfering her own self-proclaimed and self-promoted childhood life experience's, as to match the content of this book entitled "Fox Song"!

Dee Brightstar, Thomas Obomsawin and his children were there, Daisy Goodman was there too. I think the Bruchac's were there as well, performing at either the Pow-wow or at the Opera House down on Main Street.

A bit more about April 1994

When I was sitting in the Grand Union Parking lot there in Burlington, Vermont that day of April 06, 1994, I had been waiting for a person to arrive from the Mallett's Bay area, whom I had only spoken to on the telephone while I was out in Washington State. She said she was Abenaki, and worked (at the time) for the "Tribal Office" there in Swanton, Vermont. Her name was "Dee Brightstar". When she came up to the 1975 Dodge van, with myself and the hound dog sitting there, the shock in my mind was undeniable. Here was a woman, with dyed black hair, sunglasses, long jean "duster" coat on, with a head scarf over her head. Makeup plastered all over her, earrings and "Indian" Jewelry hung from her neck and ear's the likes that would have sunk the Titanic! I was "shocked", taken aback by the scene/ image that assaulted my eyes. I didn't know if she was real or whether I was hallucinating. But I put my first impressions aside and kindly said hello to this woman. Shortly thereafter, we arranged that I would "rent" from her, til I found a place of my own. She introduced me to the Swanton "Tribal" people such as Michael Delaney and his wife Ina, Gina, Bunny, etc. as well as Daisy Goodman. Soon, in late May during the Memorial Day weekend, the Missisquoi Abenaki Pow-wow would be held, which I was looking foward to attending. I met Homer St. Francis, their "Chief" and he informed me that I would be "firekeeping" at the event.
I was sitting at their "Tribal Building" (the old Swanton Railway Station) when I met this elderly man by the name of Robert "Bob" Wells, a proclaimed Medicine Man of the Abenaki. He even had a Medicine Man business card in his wallet! He didn't speak Abenaki. By then though I knew a little bit of language. But we met, he began to hang out with me and I enjoyed his company too. I met Doris Minkler and her family, John Moody, Cecile Wawanolet (the language speaker/teacher from Odanak) when she'd travel down to give the Language Classes in the "Back Barn".

Well, it took about a mere three months, if that, and the arrangement that Dee Brightstar and I had of renting etc, went from so-so to just plain negative. She bad mouthed me to everybody. It was here nor there.

In the newspaper article regarding the May 1994 Pow-wow event, on the left hand side, stands Joseph Bruchac to the right of myself, "Salmon" holding the smudging pot, Elie Joubert is holding the Missisquoi flag, then to the left of Elie is Daryl Laroque, and then Dale Carson wearing the Mountain Man regalia/buckskin outfit.

That July another Pow-wow was happening in Littleton, Grafton County, New Hampshire that we all from Swanton, Vermont traveled to. So, in the next entry I will share awareness of my very first "introduction" to Nancy Lee (nee: Millette) Cruger, the Promoter of the Town of Littleton, New Hampshire at the time, who was the person who organized that event.

In the photo of the man wearing the headdress and mocassin patterned ribbon shirt is Homer St. Francis at one of the events up in Highgate during Memorial Day weekend. He also wore this "ribbon shirt and feathered headress to the Remich Park Pow-wow event in Littleton, N.H. later in July, 1994. The other man in the buckskin and headdress is Walter Watso from Odanak, Quebec, Canada. The woman in the shawl and hair-pipe choker is Dee Brightstar, the elderly man sitting in the chair is Robert "Bob" Wells who worked with harvesting and doctoring with plants, and the Drum Group is from Swanton, Vermont; the man in the white cowboy hat was Wayne Hall a.k.a. Mountain Couger, then to the man with the white hair and light blue shirt is Edward Verge Sr. from Island Pond, Vermont; then to Ed's right is Jesse Bowman Bruchac, then Thomas Obomsawin, then Dee Brightstar whose singing outside of the drummers, then there's Charles a.k.a. "Souring Eagle" Delaney Jr., and Bob Charlebois from Fall River, MA. The other picture is of the same group of people but from a different angle. Most of these people, you will hear about in future blog postings either in the dcoumentary evidence or in the commentary to the postings images.

Another photograph I have placed here in this posting, is that of Dee Brightstar and Doris "a.k.a. "Morning Dove" Minckler. I recall that Dee Brightstar was always visiting Doris, etc., and that another woman by the name of Cheryl (a.k.a. "Nanatasis") Bluto - Delevental also visiting quite regularly with Doris. These two women, Dee Brightstar and Cheryl Delevental were "opposing each other" for the "entitlement" of being Doris' successor to being Turtle Clan Mother who would be entitled to sit as an woman Elder on several Councils in Vermont, etc. Perhaps, it was only Dee Brightstar that was having the "issues" with Cheryl, but I remeber there was a competition between these two woman, over who took over "after Doris passed away" even before she did pass away on March 10th, 1997. I remember I would visit with Tom Obomsawin and his companion Daisy Goodman who were living behind Doris Minkler's place back in 1994, and late one night, I seen Doris was up because her light was on in the kitchen, so we would sit and talk, play cards. She did the best that she could, and indeed she was a devout Catholic Christian, yet she was "appointed" as being the "Medicine Woman" of "Chief" Homer's "group" and she told me this. She was passing out "names" to those who sought her out. She was a Indian name-giver just as much as "Chief" Homer and his "Tribal Judge" Mike Delaney was "Membership Card-givers". Out of no disrespectfulness towards Doris or anyone else, I think of when this all was going down, that as much as Homer and Mike were giving out these "cards", the person(s) would get the "card" and then they'd go over to Doris' place and get their "Indian Name"!

Thats how I look at back then anyway, and if that is supposedly "disrespectful" of the deceased, well that is how I retrospectively look at those times when I was there watching it all go on. I remember the plastic beads, the leathers and dyed fake feathers, the whole nine yards. There was no central "Community" acknowledgement of anyone getting these "Indian Names". They certainly weren't in abenaki. There was no gathering of the "Abenaki Community" around a person having been born, married or dieing when I was there in the Spring-Summer-or Fall of 1994. A person brought a "gift" of whatever, requested Doris Minckler to give them a "Indian Name", and she would tell them to come back in a week or two, and she gave them something they'd either told her they wanted or something she thought up, dreamt up or whatever. Then, that person who now had been given an "Indian Name" went around and informed everyone else about getting the name, or used it, instead of their legally given birth name in the records or the like. "Salmon Raven Deer", a name I transfered from the native language over into the english language and legally took is exactly a classical example of what I am talking about! Native names are not given in this manner, traditionally ,and neither was it appropiate what was happening up in Swanton, Vermont either, respectfully said!

The woman in the upper photograph holding the dark brown dance shawl, wearing the really long buckskin fringed dress is Jeanne (nee: Lincoln) Kent at the May 1994 Pow-wow at the Highgate, Vermont Pow-wow. I will be posting more about her "involvement" in the Recognition Process; etc. later on within this blog as well.

When I first thought about relocating to N'dakinna.....

I legally changed my name to Salmon Raven Deer on September 21, 1991 in Port Angeles, Washington, stupidly thinking that such name change would reflect my Native People's ancestry. I was very naive. It was in the late summer of 1993, I had been genealogically researching for several years, my Woodard ancestry and knew that they were from Vermont. Knowing that one line of my relatives went from Walden, Caledonia County, Vermont to Phillips County, Kansas in October 1879, and the other line (siblings to my Woodard 4th Great Grandparents) had relocated to Fitch Bay, Stanstead County, Quebec, Canada in about 1845-1850, I decided to contact the Vermont Historical Society there in Montpelier, Vermont to request communication with anyone working with "the Abenaki" of Vermont. They wrote back giving me the name of John Moody. So, I called him up on the telephone, explaining my frustration. His reply was for me to keep genealogically researching the families of Woodward and Sawyer, and communicate later. So about a year later I did call him back. His words were, "didn't I tell you the Woodward's and Sawyer's were Abenaki?, you need to contact the Sovereign Abenaki Nation up in Swanton, get an application, and send it in". That was on or about July 20, 1993. Around this same timeframe, I had run across a Mentonoket Newsletter from down in Greenfield, N.H. on the table of my Annishnabe friend, wherein was indicated a "fluent Abenaki speaker" by the name of "Rick TwoBears", living in the Midwest area whom was giving language classes. Naturally, I was curious and contacted him. He told me that to write Salmon Raven Deer in Abenaki, one would write it "Meskwakchimolka". Of course, I didn't know the man was full of b.s., and so I used it on my application form. I shipped the family information I had at the time, which didn't amount to much at all, via U.P.S.

My "application" for membership into the Sovereign Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi/ Abenaki Tribal Council P. O. Box 276 Missisquoi, 05488 (802) 868-7146 was "O.K. Chief" dated 9-7-93 (September 07, 1993). All I had was oral history from various Wood(w)ard descendants. I thought (at the time) that I was applying for membership into a bonefide, legitimate Abenaki Community of legitimate Abenaki People. How naive I was at the time. In October 1993, I wrote to Michael and Ina Delaney up in Swanton, Vermont inquirying about the Abenaki language. I was then thinking on at least "visting" Swanton, Vermont at some point in the future.

By March of 1994 I had made the conclusion that however it would be put into reality, I would relocate to Swanton, Vermont or the surrounding area. I wanted to learn the Abenaki Language.

I had been living in a Layton Travel Trailer on the Elwha River for some time, I was 26 years of age, and couldn't see myself down the years of life in the same place, doing the same thing, being in the same town. So, I decided to sell the travel trailer, and buy a decent vehicle that would get me and the hound dog across the USA to Swanton, Vermont. I bought a 1975 Dodge van. I left Port Angeles in late March 1994 and hit the road eastwardly. I went through NY State up towards Rouses Point, NY and Alburg, Vermont. At one or the other places, at 4 a.m. or so, I took a left and unbeknownst to me, I "ran the Border" between the USA and Canada, having crossed a bridge, setting off the alarms. I turned around and figured out my way into Alburg, Vermont or Swanton. I pulled over and began to get directions to Swanton. At 4 a.m. I was trying to find the Swanton Abenaki Tribal Center. Well, I drove to Burlingon, Vermont havng driven through Swanton and called family out in Washington. Then I called Dee Brightstar to inform her I had indeed arrived in N'dakinna successfully. That is how I landed in Vermont, right smack in the middle of a mess, I at-the-time could never have foreseen getting into. I'll tell more later, of my experiences of April 1994 etc.

I will be posting other Family Genealogical Information as it pertains to those Public Representatives Members/ Followers of these so called and alleged Vermont and or New Hampshire "Groups" of Abenaki, in the near future. I just figured I would be the first one to post my own grandfather's ancestry, so that there would be no "talk" of being allegedly biased towards this process. If anyone has ANY questions about this genealogical work, just ask. I will TRY to stay away from POSTING living descendants, but such posting of living descendant can happen accidentally. I will clarify for the record, that Blaine Edward Woodard's daughter, Patricia J. (nee Woodard) married to Charles L. Buchholz, whom were my biological (genetic) contributing birth parents.

The REAL TRUTH about the Vermont Abenaki.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Douglas Lloyd Buchholz, age 41 years and I was born in Port Angeles, Clallam County, Washington 98362 in April 1968. I was adopted twice. This is my birth given name. I have been known by Mark Douglas Kingsley, Mark Douglas Leckie, and Salmon Raven Deer. I was told by my birth mother's mother that we were "French Indian" descendants on our grandfather Blaine Edward Woodard's side of the family, her first husband. Later, I genealogically discovered that the Woodard's came from Peacham, Caledonia County, Vermont area to Phillipsburgh, Phillips County, Kansas. In April 1994 (after having recieved a Homer St. Francis "Card" within his Abenaki Group in September or October 1993) I relocated to Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont. This blog is to inform you folks out there why I have taken the position that this "Group" claiming to be Missisquoi Abenaki, nor its past or present Representatives, of the St. Francis Family are not Missisquoi Abenaki at all. Why, I do not conclude that this Group nor that of several others within the State of Vermont merit official State Recongnition, after having lived here in N'dakinna for 15 + years. As follows in future blog entries will be the proof and foundation of why I say and conclude as I do. Please be aware that this may not be "nice" to put some information out there, but then again it is a matter of timely importance that the Vermont Public and other REAL LEGITMATE ABENAKI see and read for themselves the information herein. I urge anyone who is seeking the truth of the Abenaki reality to continue checking out this blog site periodically for new information and input by either myself or by others. Kindly, Douglas Lloyd Buchholz