Document 01: Letter document from Conseil De Bande D'Odanak Band Council dated August 16, 2000 to Mr. Richard R. "Skip" Bernier of 35 Abenaki Drive in Newport, Orleans County, Vermont USA. "Mr. Bernier, With this letter, the Band Council of Odanak recognizes ONLY the Odanak Abenaki Family of Vermont with full recognition and status, back to our homeland. We hope to continue our stong ties with this family as the years pass. They are truly following our culture, as it should be and we the people of Odanak are proud to see the true native culture and basic needs being lived on our native ancestral land to the south. May this family continue to push forward in years to come. Sincerely, Gilles O'Bomsawin, Chief for the Odanak Council." 102, rue Sibosis, Odanak (Quebec) JOG 1HO Telephone: 450-568-2810.
Obviously, as of August 16, 2000 Gilles O'Bomsawin was beginning to "see" that there were fraudulant, mainpulative, deceitful persons and people/groups self proclaiming to being Abenakis down in Vermont and New Hampshire that have had no genealogical basis or foundation to be claiming such an appropriated Aboriginal Native Identity.
It is interesting to note, that Howard Franklin Knight Jr. was one such party who claimed and claims his grandmother Ida May Geer/Gear who married Franklin W. Knight, was born in or at Odanak, Quebec, Canada in January 1888. Perhaps Mr. "Skip" Bernier himself and Mr. Howard F. Knight Jr. were finding out one and the other of each other, that one was legitimately Abenaki (Bernier) and the other was not (Knight)? It is known from documentation, that Howard F. Knight was retrospectively-speaking communicating with Gilles O'Bomsawin regarding David Hill
LINK: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/10/august-15-1997-odanak-letter-regarding.html so perahps it was Mr. Howard F. Knight Jr. who alerted the late Odanak Chief Gilles O'Bomsawin to the schemes and ffraudulant "appropriation" of Abenaki identity without genealogical or historical merit by these so-called alleged and invented "Chiefs" of these alleged and invented "Abenaki" groups down in Vermont of which we all know that Mr. Howard F. Knight Jr. was claiming to be, that caused Gilles O'Bomsawin to create this 2000 letter, and also do this Resolution to revoke and null and void Walter Watso's previous Odanak/ Wolinak Resolution of 1976 and 1977 (?). Secondly, Howard Knight Jr. was laying claim to being allegedly genealogically connected to the Watso, O'Bomsawin and Degonzaque/ Consack families. I will have to post this September 25, 2006 email communication Howard F. Knight Jr. sent to Karen Mica or Majka in my next post.
Document 02: Resolution De Bande d'Odanak/ Odanak Band Resolution #Chronologique GOB-046003-04. Dated September 29, 2003. Province de: Quebec.
Decide, par les presentes: "While we recognize that the Band Councils of Odanak and Wolinak issued resolutions in 1976 and 1977 recognizing the St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Abenakis as a group of Abenakis living in the United States, we also recognize that these resolutions were not based on any genealogical or historical evidence linking these "St. Francis/Sokoki" to our Abenaki and Sokoki ancestors.
We also recognize that the number of organizations claiming to being Abenaki in the United States and in Canada has increased greatly since that time, again without genealogical and historical evidence presented to this Council.
Therefore, we resolve that the Couseil de Band d'Odanak does not recognize at this time any organizations claiming to be Abenaki First Nations in the United States or Canada, with the exceptions of our brothers and sisters at Wolinak and Penobscot. We, of course, also recognize our fellow Wobanaki First Nation- the Passamaquoddy, Malecite and Mi'kmaq.
We further resolve that organizations claiming to be Abenaki and particularly their leadship, are invited to send their genealogical and historical documentation to the Conseil de Bande d'Odanak, so that we might review the information to assess whether or not there is any truth to their genealogical claims.
Let it be resolved, that Chief Gilles O'Bosawin sent letters to the Conseil de Bande di Wolinak, to the Penobscot nation and to the Grand Conseil de la Nation Waban-aki, encouraging them to pass similar resolutions." Quorum (3) Chef Gilles O'Bomsawin; Clement Sadaques, Conseiller; Michel Hannis, Conseiller; Eddy O'Bomsawin, Conseiller; and Denis Gill, Conseiller.
My Commentary:
These two particular documents amongst others was mailed to me "anonymously" sometime before Christmas and arrived to me on December 26th, 2009. Whoever sent this, I thank you ever so kindly for having done so.
So, what this Document of September 29th, 2003 does is REVOKE the two Resolutions signed by Walter Watso of Odanak in August 1976 and early 1977 ~ and seemingly also that of which Noel St. Aubin of Wolinak signed as well. See postings of this blog dated October 16, 2009 regarding August 15, 1977 Odanak Letter Regarding Walter Watso and Howard Franklin Knight Jr. LINK: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/10/august-15-1997-odanak-letter-regarding.html and LINK: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/11/step-4-forward-along-yellow-brick-road.html in particular: November 04, 1977: At the request of Arthur "Bill" Seymour and Kent Ouimette, Chief Noel St. Aubin of Wolinak's Abenaki Community situated in the Province of Quebec, Canada, issued a Resolution from the Abenakis of Becancour (Wolinak) in support of all of the Abenakis in the United States.
LINK: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/11/step-16-forward-along-yellow-brick-road.html in particular: Hmmmm, let's take a "little mental trip down memory lane" to August 06, 1992. Per these documents that are being posted on this blog, Howard F. Knight Jr. recieved from Homer St. Francis Sr, the document signed by Odanak Abenaki Community resident and Chief Walter Watso on August 20, 1976 and rec'd by Homer St. Francis on Aug 27, 1976 which Homer St. Francis had notarized on August 30, 1976 in Swanton, Vermont (See: Posting on this blog "Step 06" January 03, 1977 Apendix C of Haviland and Powers Book The Original Vermonters). This Document will be Exhibit #22 of which I just made mention of.
LINK: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/11/step-27-forward-along-yellow-brick-road.html
In conclusion, the State Legislature's of both Vermont and New Hamsphire NEED to comprehend that Odanak, a known legitimately documented, historical, continuous, and cohesive Abenaki COMMUNITY does NOT recognize on any OFFICIAL STANDING anyone claiming to being Abenaki, without first having the claimant(s) genealogical foundation(s), and their historical records to substantiate that the claimant(s) are definitively, clearly and convincingly, of Abenaki descent. Obviously, Odanak's late Chief Gilles O'bomsawin knew of these Vermont - New Hampshire and Massachusetts Incorporated "groups" fraudulantly claiming to being representatives of the Abenaki People, and began addressing these dynamics and issues in August 2000 and again with this official Odanak Band Resolution on September 29, 2003. Odanak came to conclusion that the "St. Francis/ Sokoki" group led by the late Homer St. Francis (and now led by his daughter April Merrill in 2009), did not in 1976, 1977, 2000 or in 2003 nor in 2005 have ANY EVIDENCE of being Abenaki, St. Francis Indians or Sokoki.
Perhaps the State's of Vermont and New Hampshire Legislative Political Representatives would like to ignore this dynamic in 2010 (?) i.e. that these "groups" (which are merely splintered off Inc. created "groups" from Homer. St. Francis's "group" or from Howard F. Knight Jr.'s "group") are attempting to "become Abenakis" bestowed and crowned with official State Legislature status as being legitimately "Abenaki" Tribes and or Bands. WITHOUT any genealogical evidence of their ancestors having been Abenaki who had connection(s) to any legitimate historical cohesive or continuous Abenaki Community.
I cannot emphasize enough, that the State Legislature and Political Representatives NEED to take the time and investigate, review and evaluate these alleged Abenaki groups claims of being legitimate and bonefide Abenakis. If Odanak, Quebec, Canada's Abenaki Community and Wolinak's Abenaki Community Chief's were putting out letter's and Official Resolutions like this, then the Legislature's of Vermont and New Hampshire regarding Bill's S. 124, 222 and the other's in New Hampshire ought to take a time and study/ review just what is knocking repeatedly at their door. Are these "groups" of alleged and reinvented Abenakis really honestly legitimately Abenakis, or are they frauds, fakes and wannabe's who are merely Incorporations?!
Obviously and apparently Odanak, a legitimate historical, cohesive and continous definitively genealogically-based Abenaki Community concluded that these "groups" down in Vermont and New Hampshire, including some in Quebec, Canada were fakes, frauds and wannabe Abenakis that had no genealogical or historical merit to be claiming that they were Abenaki.
Read the B.I.A. Conclusions on Swanton's St. Francis/ Sokoki "group" of November 09, 2005.
I will be posting further documents on this blog......keep checking back. I got A LOT MORE actual documents regarding Howard F. Knight Jr., Emerson Garfield, Nancy Millette Doucet, John Moody, April Merrill, Paul Pouliot, and many many more people, who were claiming to be representing the Abenaki as "Chief's" and so on.
Grab your hip-wader's and goggles too. I'd strongly suggest a person go to the hardware store downstreet there and pick up a loooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggggg plastic pipe too. About the diameter of a dime say and about maybe three foot long. That way you can breath when the so-called Abenaki B.S. here in Vermont and New Hampshire gets so deep, a person won't drown in it. Might also want to pick up a set of them ear plugs too while you folks are at it. Just thought I'd warn you kindly said, because from the likes of it, there ain't a shovel made in heaven going to help clean up this mess.
