St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis: Proposed Finding--Summary Under the Criteria--That This Group Does Not Exist As A Indian or Abenaki Tribe: Pages 1 to 09:

As follows, page by page, I will place this very informative document for the public to actually be able to "read for themselves"..."evaluate"...and "review" This group of alleged and re-invented Abenakis of Vermont is presently seeking State Recognition from the Legislature of Vermont. This particular groups is one of the 4 incorporated groups of alleged and re-invented Groups who now claim to be the "Abenakis of Vermont," who have "representatives" presently sitting on and representing the Vermont Commission On Native American Affairs, here in Vermont. None of these groups willingly, without hesitation or protest will show and provide any genealogical validity to their connections to the Abenaki People, historically or contemporarily-speaking. So here goes....at 8 to 10 pages at a posting I am going to provide this Proposed Finding Report regarding this incorporated group calling itself the "St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont.
(Let me 'give credit' where credit is due)...I received this particular documentation from Rhonda Lou (nee: Besaw) Grimes - True (wife of Charles Francis True, Jr. of Whitefield, Coos County, New Hampshire) of the so-called "Abenaki Nation of New Hampshire, Inc." (or D.B.A.)

Cover Page

Summary under the Criteria

for the Proposed Finding on the

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of the Abenakis of Vermont

Prepared in response to a petition submitted to the Associate Deputy Secretary for Federal acknowledgment that this group does not exist as an Indian Tribe.

Approved: November 09, 2005

Signed: James E. Cason

Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding - Summary Under the Criteria

Page 01

ST. FRANCIS/ SOKOKI BAND OF ABENAKIS OF VERMONT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION Page 3
Administrative History Page 4
Overview of the Petitioner and its Claimed Connection to the Historical Tribe Page 10
CONCLUSIONS UNDER THE CRITERIA (25 CFR 83.7)
Executive Summary of the Proposed Finding's Conclusions Page 20
Criterion (a) Page 22
Criterion (b) Page 44
Criterion (c) Page 91
Criterion (d) Page 109
Criterion (e) Page 113
Criterion (f) Page 147
Criterion (g) Page 149

SUPPORTING MATERIALS

Map: The Western Abenaki and Their Neighbors Page 7
Map: Map of St. Francis/Odanak and Vicinity in the Province of Quebec Page 8
Map: Map of Colonial Northeast, circa 1660-1725 Page 9
Appendix A: Information Chart on Petitioner's Claimed Ancestor Families Page AI
Appendix B: Transcription of James Robertson's Lease 1765 Page BI

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding-- Summary Under the Criteria

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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ADS Associate Deputy Secretary
AS-IA Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs
BAR Branch of Acknowledgment and Research, Bureau of Indian Affairs
BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
FD Final Determination
FAIR Federal Acknowledgment Information Resource
FR Federal Register
FTM TM Family Tree Maker
IBIA Interior Board of Indian Appeals
SSA St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont
OD Obvious deficiencies letter
OFA Office of Federal Acknowledgment
PF Proposed Finding
TA Technical assistance letter
U. S. United States
VES Vermont Eugenics Survey

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding - Summary Under the Criteria

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Summard under the Criteria for the Proposed Finding

on the

ST. FRANCIS/ SOKOKI BAND OF ABENAKIS OF VERMONT

INTRODUCTION

The Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs (Assistant Secretary or AS-IA) within the Department of Interior (Department or DOI) has issued this proposed finding (PF) in response to the petition received from the group known as the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont (SSA, Petitioner #068) located in Swanton, Vermont. The SSA is seeking Federal acknowledgement as an Indian tribe under Part 83 of Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations (25 CFR Part 83)). By the Secretary of the Interior’s Order 3259, dated February 08, 2005, and amended on August 11, 2005, the Secretary delegated to the Associate Deputy Secretary (ADS) most of the duties formerly delegated to the Assistant Secretary. (This delegation will expire upon the confirmation of a new Assistant Secretary or designation of an Acting Assistant Secretary.) Among the delegated authorities is the authority to “execute all documents, including regulations and other Federal Register notices, and perform all other duties relating to Federal recognition of Native American Tribes.”

The acknowledgement regulations under 25 CFR Part 83 establish the procedures by which Indian groups may seek Federal acknowledgement and establish a government-to-government relationship with the United States. To be in such a political relationship with the United States, the petitioner must submit documentary evidence to demonstrate that the group meets the seven criteria in Section 83.7 of the regulations. Failure to meet any one of the mandatory criteria will result in a determination that the group does not exist as an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law. The Branch of Federal Acknowledgement and Research (BAR), within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), was charged with the responsibility of petition analysis. Effective July 27, 2003, this office was renamed the Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) and relocated administratively under the office of the AS-IA.

The time periods for the evaluation of documented petitions are set forth in the acknowledgement regulations in section 83.10. Publication of the Associate Deputy Secretary’s proposed finding in the Federal Register initiates a 180-day comment period during which the petitioner, interested and informed parties, and the public may submit arguments and evidence to support or rebut the conclusions in the proposed finding. Such comments should be submitted in writing to the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240, Attention of the Office of Federal Acknowledgement, Mail Stop 34B-SIB. Interested or informed parties must provide copies of their submissions to the petitioner. The regulations, 25 CFR 83.10(k), provide petitioners with a minimum of 60 days to respond to any submissions on the proposed finding received from interested and informed parties during the comment period.

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding— Summary Under the Criteria
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At the end of the period for comment on a proposed finding, the Associate Deputy Secretary shall consult with the petitioner and interested parties to determine an equitable time frame for consideration of written arguments and evidence submitted during the response period. The petitioner and interested parties shall be notified of the date such consideration begins.

After consideration of the written arguments and evidence rebutting or supporting the proposed finding and the petitioner's response to the comments of interested parties and informed parties, the Assistant Secretary shall make a final determination regarding the petitioner's status. A summary of this determination shall be published in the Federal Register within 60 days from the date on which the consideration of the written arguments and evidence rebutting or supporting the proposed finding begins.

After publication of the final determination, the petitioner or any interested party may file a request for reconsideration with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) under the procedures in section 83.11 of the regulations. A request for reconsideration must be made within 90 days of publication of the final determination. Unless a request for reconsideration is filed pursuant to section 83.11, the final determination will become effective 90 days from its date of publication.

Administrative History

The SSA submitted a letter of intent on March 28, 1980, to petition for Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe. On October 22, 1982, the SSA (St. Francis / Sokoki Abenaki) submitted a documented petition to the Department. The documents consisted mostly of a narrative, some family charts, abstracted lists of birth records from the 1920's, and a few primary documents mostly from before the 19th century or after the early 1970's. The petitioner did not provide copies of most of the primary and secondary sources referenced or quoted in the petition narrative, as required by the regulations (83.6(c)). Copies of these supporting documents should be submitted in response to all the criteria.

The Department conducted a formal technical assistance (TA) review of the petition, and on June 14, 1983, sent the first obvious deficiency (OD) letter to the petitioner. The petitioner responded to the first OD letter on May 23, 1986, with more documentation. These documents consisted mainly of a petition narrative, 26 appendices containing mostly lists of names abstracted from local records and Federal censuses, and family charts. The petitioner submitted copies of a small number of primary documents from before the early 1970's, with most of them being from the period before 1800. It did not supply copies of most of the primary and secondary sources referenced or quoted in the petition narrative. Included among the materials referenced but not submitted were numerous field notes and numbered but unidentified sources contained in the petitioner's archives. These numbered documents could, according to the group, "be consulted with the permission of the Abenaki Research Project Staff' (SSA 1986.05.23 [Addendum B], 356).1 Also not included was "Addendum C," described as containing family histories, an oral history overview, and a pre-1800 historical work summary, which the petitioner promised to
FOOTNOTES:
1. Citations are the same as those used to identify the document in the FAIR database under the Short Cite Heading. For a discussion of the FAIR system see the final paragraph of the Administrative History.

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding— Summary Under the Criteria
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submit at a later date (SSA 1986.05.23 [Addendum B], 356). This "Addendum C" was never submitted, although the Department informed the petitioner of its absence on December 1, 1988, and requested that it be provided (Thompson 1988.12.01; Salerno 2001.10.23). The petition narrative also made frequent references to an unpublished 1979 work by John Moody, one of its researchers, entitled "Missisquoi Abenaki: Survival in Their Ancient Homeland." This manuscript, part of the petition record, made frequent references to primary and secondary sources, including a number of interviews, copies of which the petitioner did not submit. The petitioner is encouraged to submit these materials to support its claims.

On September 22, 1988, the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Vermont (State) wrote the Department's Office of the Solicitor (SOL) requesting that it be provided copies of SSA membership lists in the petition record. The Attorney General's office stated these lists were needed as part of criminal prosecutions related to some petitioning group members (Eschen 1988.09.22). On October 19, 1988, the Department informed the State that these membership lists were protected by the provisions of the Privacy Act, but granted the State's request and provided the lists under a specific exception to the prohibition of disclosure, Section 56(c)(5) of Part 2 of Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Elbert 1988.10.19). This exception allowed disclosure of such materials

to another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activity is authorized by law, and if the head of the agency or instrumentality has made a written request to the Department specifying the particular portion desired and the law enforcement activity for which the record is sought.

On January 11, 1989, the petitioner requested the return of its documented petition materials (St. Francis 1989.01.11). The Department informed the petitioner on February 23, 1989, that it was returning the materials under separate cover. Returned materials included a neighborhood map and pages 222-227 from the narrative portion of the petition, Addendum Part A, Appendices Part 13, all membership rolls, all genealogical data, and specific material from the part of the petition submitted as Part A (Johnson 1989.02.23). The Department also notified the petitioner the material had to be resubmitted when the group's petition was placed on active consideration (Johnson 1989.02.23).

In December 1995 and January 1996, the group submitted a "Second Addendum" to its petition for Federal acknowledgment, which was essentially the same material provided in 1982 and 1986, without the neighborhood map, early membership rolls, and other materials returned by the Department in 1989. On January 17, 1996, the Department placed the group on the "Ready, Waiting for Active Consideration" list. After assigning a research team to evaluate and prepare recommendations on the SSA petition, the Department began active consideration of the proposed finding on February 4, 2005. The Associate Deputy Secretary projected issuing the proposed finding by October 28, 2005.

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding— Summary Under the Criteria
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On April 13, 2005, the petitioner submitted a supplemental submission to its petition for Federal acknowledgment as permitted by the Department's Federal Register notice, entitled "Office of Federal Acknowledgment; Reports and Guidance Documents; Availability, etc." dated March 31, 2005. These materials consisted mainly of a genealogical database, Family Tree MakerTM (FTMTM) file on diskette, the group's current membership list on diskette (separately certified by only five of the seven members of the governing body), letters from academics responding to the State's comments on the petition, resumes of several researchers and academics, a catalog of purported Native American artifacts from Vermont, four interview transcripts, documents related to the Vermont Eugenics Survey, copies of previously submitted articles from local histories, meeting minutes, newsletters, a videotape, and some correspondence. The FTMTM file and the group's membership list were submitted in a software format that could not be accessed by the computers of the Department researchers. This material was supplemented by additional documents on May 16, 2005, including another FTMTM file in compact disk format which could be accessed by OFA's computers, a paper copy of the group's membership list not separately certified by the governing body, a copy of a newspaper article, and the group's current constitution. On August 5, 2005, OFA researchers requested clarification of some of the terms used in the petition, and also requested copies of a number of membership files. On August 18, 2005, the petitioner submitted another membership list separately certified by all the members of the governing body, as well as the clarification of terms and copies of membership files requested by OFA.

To create this proposed finding, the Department used a database system incorporating all data from the administrative record employed in the decision-making process. The database system is named FAIR, for "Federal Acknowledgment Information Resource system." It runs on Access 2000 software, a relational database capable of being operated on personal computers. The system provides on-screen access to the images of all of the documents in the record, which are linked to entries of information extracted from the documents. The system information includes the genealogical relationships between individuals, as well as the group's membership lists and reports. The genealogical information may be exported to a separate genealogical software program, FTMTM, for preparation of genealogical charts. The complete documentary record considered for this proposed finding will be included and provided to the petitioner; a redacted version will be prepared for interested parties to protect privacy information. Any documentation not scanned in time for inclusion in FAIR for the proposed finding will be included in the database prepared for the final determination.

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding -Summary Under the Criteria

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The Western Abenakis and Their Neighbors. (Map adapted from Colin Calloway, The Western Abenaki of Vermont, 1600-1800)

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:

Proposed Finding - Summary Under the Criteria
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Map of St. Francis/ Odanak and Vicinity in the Province of Quebec. (Map adapted from Gordon Day, The Identity of the St. Francis Indians)

St. Francis/ Sokoki Band of Vermont Abenakis:
Proposed Finding - Summary Under the Criteria

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Colonial Northeast, circa 1660-1725 (Map adapted from Sweeny and Haefeli, Captor and Captives: the 1704 French and Indian Raid on Deerfield, 2003: http://1704deerfield.history.museum/maps/northeast/html)

The "Abenaki" Plot Thickens....Part 7: September 11, 2010 Nulhegan Enthrones His Chiefly-Ness Donald Stevens as Inc. Pres.~Dawn Dague-Macie~Articles From Newspapers~More Importantly...Don Stevens Solicitation of His relatives Sept. 06, 2010:

September 11, 2010 Photograph of (Left to Right) Donald Warren Stevens, Jr. (notice the silver bracelet, gold ring, the "Native American-ish" t-shirt and the "Native American-ish choker that Don is wearing), Dawn Marie (nee: Dague) Macie, and Luke Andrew Willard.

Here we see yet another photograph of Donald Stevens Jr. shaking hands with Luke Andrew Willard. History Repeating Itself? No, it is not. because Donald Warren Stevens, Jr. is a "distortionistist." He is a descendant of Antoine Phillips Sr. through Antoine's son Peter Phillips who died in December 1906 in Peacham, Caledonia County, Vermont. Antoine was SAID to be aan alleged leader of the described "Gypsy" (roving) Phillips family who traveled along route 15 between South Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont and locations east, usually "Paradise Alley" of North Peacham, Vermont. He could have been "leading a team of horses," for all anyone really knows! Most of Don Stevens "Phillips people" historically and documentarily resided in and around Burlington, Vermont (including Don Stevens himself!), not Lac Memphremagog throughout the previous 100 years! This man, received the Eugenic's Survey documentation from Judy Dow, Nancy Gallagher, and myself, because he didn't know ANYTHING about his Phillips ancestors 5 years ago! Yet, nowhere does he state that he was NOT brought up in this so-called "Abenaki culture" or awareness of his so-called "Abenaki" Ancestry, because he wasn't raised that way, nor did he have any awareness of "an Abenaki Culture" in the first place! He even admits that his own parents DID NOT COMMUNICATE anything to do with the Phillips family. Most of his self-declarations comes directly from the Eugenics Survey materials (which he takes for FACT, and yet there are distortions and untruths in that material), which were given to him within the previous 5 years! He had to inquire of my person retrospectively-speaking ) because other Phillips people would not share with him....he is a "user" and an appropriator). As to whether or not Richard Wilfred "Black Horse" Phillips was ever documentarily a legitimate "Chief" in Swanton, Vermont (Don asked me if I had any documentary evidence of Richard being a Chief, because he, Don Stevens, didn't really know in the first place!). Richard Black Horse Phillips APPROPRIATED THE TITLE OF "CHIEF"...Not that he really was a legitimate "Chief" of anything, except creating himself as a "President of an incorporation" (I will show that very documentation in due time on this blog as well). Donald Warren Stevens, Jr. used the Winifred Yaratz book, to come to his conclusions, and DID NOT SOURCE any of his "canned" CLAIMS about the Phillips family.

Nulhegan Drummers: Terry Trottier, Donald Warren Stevens Jr., Allen Stevens (son of Keith Davis, born in Franklin, N.H.), Luke Andrew Willard, Dawn Macie, and Keith Davis (born in Concord, N.H. on October 06, 1966). Notice: that is "most" Native Communities, a woman is NOT TO SIT ON THE DRUM, yet in this photograph, Dawn Macie is singing and drumming. In most Native Communities, women are to encircle the drum with the rattles, to "protect" the men singers who sing on the drum. As the life-givers, women are usually NOT culturally allowed to "sit" on a drum, as Dawn Marie (nee: Dague) Macie is seen doing in this photograph. Apparently, making up their "traditions" and ignoring the very Cultural traditions of the Abenaki and the Waubunaki that have been appropriate and have rational reasonings for them, doesn't apply to this made-up alleged and re-invented "Abenaki" group 501(c)(3) Incorporate group calling itself the Nulhegan/ Coosuk/ Old Phillips Band. Even David Roland O'Bomsawin did not drum, simply because this woman was disrespecting and ignoring Abenaki culture and traditions. Of course, none of these people care about what they "put out there," because in truthful reality, they are making this "Abenaki Culture" up as they go along....right along with Luke Willard and Don Stevens.

September 11, 2010 Phtoograph: Here one can see, David Roland O'Bomsawin (Obomsawin) on the far left, Keith Davis in the head bandana, Allen Davis (Keith's son), Donald Stevens Jr. in the middle of the picture, Dawn Macie in front of Don, Luke Willard to the left of Don Stevens. The woman (on the right, in this picture wearing the puple-ish jacket) is none other than Amber Antoinette (nee: Sprouse) and her husband (standing behind her, wearing the light brown tannish short-sleeved shirt) is her hsuband, Dennis Paul Stevens, whose political platform (running for VT Governor this November 2010), is to remove the State of Vermont, legislatively, from the United States; and that to "cure all Vermont ailments" is to "keep the 1.4 billion dollars the State supposedly sends to the Pentagon," to pay for everything from health care, to well....everything. He is simply a "radical" militia person who watched "The Patriot" too many times on Luke Willard's couch! I think perhaps I wouldn't vote for the man, if I resided in Vermont. On the other hand, I might. Why, you might ask? Well, because if such a seperation of Vermont from the United State were to happen, then the "Abenakis," (should these Inc. groups succeed in manipulating themselves and the Vermont politicians into granting and gaining specific group "Abenaki Recognition) would not be quailified or eligible for Federal Indian Grants, nor the Department of Labor monies that each year, April St. Francis-Merrill receives! These groups of alleged and re-invented Abenaki groups would have to import their rolls of fake sinew and their commercially tanned deerhides, etc....and export whatever their arts were (be it Brown Ash baskets, to the 'plastic' Indian-ish Crap I always find being sold on eBay.com and at these New England Pow-wows). So, hey, MAYBE I just would vote for Dennis Paul Steele for Gov. of VT, because, since he, as "an open secessionist" and militia-type person, would stop these "Abenaki" groups from getting Native American Grants for being something they are not. These groups would have to support themselves, depend on themselves. That isn't such a bad idea. This Wanna-Be "Abenaki King" Dennis Paul Steele could them bestow upon these incorporate groups of alleged and re-invented Abenakis all the "Recognition" he can muster, certificates, headdresses and Indian names all he wants to. Of course, there would be nothing for these "Abenaki" groups, monetarily, because that 1.4 billion dollars Mr. Steele keeps repeatedly talking about would have already been appropriated to other necessities (including Mr. Steele's retirement and other benefits) and spent "three ways to Sunday." Oh well, it's just a few thoughts on the matter. I, thankfully, reside just across the river.....so what happens in Vermont can stay in Vermont! Sadly, these incorporate groups of alleged and reinvented Abenakis are here in New Hampshire too. It's an epidemic!

Here is the same photograph, but without the dog.

This Birth Certificate document ("Autumn's" delayed-birth record) of Tagwongo Alezah Obomsawin from Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont...daughter of Thomas Robert Obomsawin and his wife Daisy Jane (nee: Goodman) born October 23, 1993 in Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont...is quite revealing in it's "construction." Let's "de-construct" this document. Thomas Obomsawin was born in Massachusetts, and Daisy was born in New York, New York. At the time of the afore-mentioned birth of Tagwongo Alezah or "Autumn" her parents were living on Upper Ferris Street in Swanton (behind Doris Minkler's home). On this document, it is claimed that it is a Abenaki Nation Certification of Live Birth, signed by "Tribal Judge" Michael A. Delaney who issued said "Abenaki Nation" Certificate on November 05, 1993. Notice that the middle section of the birth certificate document indicates that both parents were born "Birth place Swanton, VT" and yet, it would appear that was and is totally incorrect. Also that the date of July 23, 1996. NOTICE: the information 11a. Franklin Probate Court. 11b. Robert P. Cronin. 11c. dated October 08, 1996. Apparently, in the context of changing his surname from Obomsawin to Abomsawin, in the effort to stay behind the late Doris Minckler's home, in that mobile home, Tom Obomsawin, also decided with with his wife, that it was "unnecessary" to document the child's home birth, with the Swanton Town Clerk's office! There is probably more-likely-than-not, more to this historical story, than what I can discern at this time from this particular document. The reason I am placing this document here, is simply to show that

1. manipulation was going on by various parties/ persons at-the-time.

2. That Tom Obomsawin was obviously working for Homer Walter St. Francis, Sr. at the time of October 1993, as did Daisy (Goodman) Obomsawin.

3. That by October 1996, both Tom and Daisy (with the various children) were residing in North Stratford, New Hampshire yet were possibly still connected to Homer St. Francis Sr. ....even though they were both vocally professing to the people around them, to no longer be "connected with the Swanton group." Of course, Tom and Daisy COULD HAVE simply been creating an "Affidavit" in October 1996, "stating that at the time of October 1993, they were involved with Homer....but that in 1996, they were supposedly not involved with the Swanton "Abenaki" group led by Homer St. Francis Sr.?

Burlington FreePress.com

By Terri Hallenbeck

Free Press Staff Writer

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Gov. Douglas appoints native recognition commission

A new Native American Commission was appointed Friday amid hopes that it will avoid disputes that paralyzed its predecessors and find a way to allow Abenaki to achieve long-elusive official state recognition.

Nine members were appointed by Gov. Jim Douglas after the Legislature passed a new law ordering the commission to be reconfigured amid giving the new panel a process to recommend official state recognition for individual Abenaki bands. Official recognition would allow artists in the bands to sell their wares as native-made.

"I'm very encouraged," said Donald Stevens, a Missisquoi Abenaki who served as chairman of the previous commission and helped push for the new commission. "I think you've got a great mix."

Stevens had warned Douglas when he signed the law in May that the new process toward granting recognition wouldn't work unless he appointed good people to the panel. The new commission is particularly notable for the number of young members, said Fred Wiseman, Missisquoi historican who also pushed for the new commission. Wiseman's son, Fred W. Wiseman, is among the new members. He noted several others are in their 20's and 30's. "The young people, I don't think, are quite as jaded," he said.

The commission was created in 2006 with a state law that was supposed to grant Vermont Abenaki official status, but the law didn't meet the criteria of the federal law and the commission was hampered by mistrust among Abenaki bands. The bands overcame strong down-to-the-wire disagreements to reach an agreement on the new law this year. Some Abenaki distrust claims of heritage by others, generating fears that some would seek to block recognition for other bands.

The new law sets out a process by which the new commission will turn to a pannel of three experts to study bands' applications for official recognition. Based on the experts' advice, the commission will make recommendations to the Legislature on who should be recognized. The Legislature would make the final decision.

The new law expanded the commission from seven to nine members; required members to be residents of Vermont for atleast three years; and set the panel's makeup to be diverse geographically and by native affiliation. The panel will elect its own chairman.

The result with Friday's announcement was a mix of members affiliated with the Elnu (Melody Walker-Brookof Jefferson, VT), Missisquoi (David Vanselette of Swanton VT, Fred W. Wiseman of Newport VT, and Takara nee: Matthews of Richmond VT), Nulhegan (Luke Willard of Brownington VT and Dawn nee: Dague-Macie now of Rutland VT), Koasek bands (Nathan Elwin Pero of West Fairlee VT), along with unaffiliated (Shirley Hook-Therrien of Braintree VT ?) and one non-Abenaki Native American (Charlene McManis of Worcester VT). It (the commission) includes the chief of one band (Luke Willard) and members of all the bands that are part of an alliance that the larger bands have.....

formed as well as members who are not part of the alliance. Where are Odanak descendant representatives on this Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, or don't these Abenakis matter, to these incorporation entities who now claim to be Abenaki Tribes and or Bands? Oh, thats right, they are "Ex-Patriots" who simply happen to have lived and worked in Vermont for generations. It's in the best interests of the State of Vermont ~and~ these incorporations groups to keep vilifying Odanak and W8linak Abenaki descendants who do legitimately come from a 200+ year old documented historical and genealogically connected Abenaki community, because these people do not want to acknowledge, relate or communicate with REAL ABENAKIS within the State of Vermont. The State would rather CREATE "fake" imposter tribes of wanna-be "Abenakis"! Of course, IF most of the VT State Legislative Representative's ever decided to pull-their-heads-out-of -their-own-asses, and realize they ARE BEING LIED TO by these incorporate entities who claim wrongly "that they come the VT Historical Abenaki Tribes," then the Legislature and the Government of Vermont would have to acknowledge the LIARS and THEIVES who EXPROPRIATE/ APPROPRIATE an alleged and re-invented "Abenaki" Culture and heritage! I won't hold my breath for the Legislative Representative's and the citizens of VT or N.H. to realize anything, until it is too late to do anything about these liars and thieves of Abenaki Culture and heritage, trying to now lay claim that their incorporations are now Abenaki tribes and or Abenaki bands of Vermont!

"I think you won't see the fighting that's been happening over the last few years," Stevens said. That's because these people all are "in it for themselves" and none of them care about fairness, transparency or proof of genealogical connection to the Abenaki Ancestors, to my thinking. "It's going to be a good group of people who work well together," said Frederick Matthew Wiseman PhD, who hopes to serve on the expert panel that will advise the commission. Yeah the PhD, helped write the concocted criteria, for the very group he belongs to, and now hopes to sit on the 3-person expert panel, so he can "o.k." these groups that he advocates for, to gain their State Recognition! How BIAS'D is that? They distrusted that Judy Dow was of "Native descent or heritage" because she (Judy Dow) seemingly advocated for "fairness and transparency in the VT recognition process of ANY Indian group" that sought State Recognition through the VCNAA (Commission); therefore she immediately became an enemy to these 4 and or 5 groups calling themselves "the VT Indigenous Alliance," whom arrogantly and stupidly state that they represent 95% percent of the Native population living in the state of Vermont.

The "Alliance" bitched and complained retrospectively, about Tim de la Bruere and Jeanne Brinke being on the Commission or having the ability to say or nay to these groups that comprise the "Alliance" and "because their ancestry is from Odanak, Quebec's Abenaki community"....because these former VCNAA appointed members advocated for transparency and fairness as well. The "Alliance" bitched and hollered about Rep. Kesha Ram "because she sought fairness and transparency" in the recognition process of ANY Native population in Vermont too. So, in May 2010, the out going Gov. Jim Douglas, signs the S.222 Amendment contrary to transparency and fairness of and towards legitimate Native People's living within the State of Vermont geographically-speaking and supported/ supports these basterd wanna-be "Abenaki" incorporations. Why? Because they are "under State of VT laws"....controlled by the State of VT. Perhaps the politicians want to seem "politically correct" all of a sudden since its "election year" and they do not want to appear "offending"?

He said several bands are working to prepare their applications for recognition in time for next legislative session. "I know several of them are busting their butts right now," he said.

Abenaki Tribe at Nulhegan-Memphremagog Makes History

As it goes along......

Written by Administrator (Mark William Mitchell)
Monday, 13 September 2010
Abenaki Tribe at Nulhegan-Memphremagog Makes History
By: Dawn Macie
Brownington, Orleans County, VT - Members of the Abenaki Tribe at Nulhegan-Memphremagog (a alleged and re-invented Coosuk band incorporation) spent Saturday, the 11th, celebrating after a Tribal Council meeting that brought their wanna-be Abenaki so-called history to full circle. After several years as chief Incorporate President, Luke Willard has stepped down after being appointed by Governor James Douglas to the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs. While there was no requirement to do so, Luke acted upon his own interest out of respect for the charge and duties of the commission B.S., Luke Willard is still Vice President and a member of this Nulhegan Incorporation. “Common sense tells me that it would be difficult to wear both hats”, said Willard, speaking of the time commitments and difficult tasks that the commission will be facing since the passing of Senate bill 222 that has set criteria for Vermont tribes to gain official recognition from the State of Vermont. At Saturday's Tribal Council meeting, Mr. Willard relinquished his duties as chief Incorporation President. Although being fairly new to the tribe's ranks, former Missisquoi member, Don Stevens yet another group/ inc. "bouncer" like Carollee Reynolds and her daughter "T.K." Takara Matthews was nominated and elected to lead the tribe Incorporation membership. A former commissioner himself, Stevens' ancestry dates back to Chief Antoine Phillips who was ALLEGEDLY born at Lake Memphremagog two centuries ago. This is what brought Stevens to enroll his family with the tribe (see the posted email in this blog post from Mr. Don Stevens himself dated September 06, 2010 to which he sent to various Phillips and Burbo relatives inside and outside the State of Vermont), whose members reside in the Lake Memphremagog and Nulhegan River basins of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Actually, MOST Phillips descendants historically resided SOUTH and or SOUTHWEST of Lac Memphremagog, in the Burlington to Swanton area, along Highway 15 towards Danville, Vermont. Most of the Phillips family members such as Kathy Joyce (nee: Phillips) Deyo-Corbitt-Clauson-Phillips, etc relocated to the Orleans County, Vermont area within the previous 20 years. Previous to this approximate time-frame these people resided elsewhere. Even Mr. Stevens Jr. himself resides not in Orleans County, Vermont but in Shelburne Chittenden County, VT! The absurdity that the man can claim repeatedly in the media that he was/ is a Missisquoi St. Francis-Sokoki Abenaki member representing and advocating for April St. Francis-Rushlow-Merrill of Swanton, Vermont and once been on her Board of Directors for ASHAI; and now claim that he is an appointed Cowasuck/ Coosuk Nuhlegan/Old Phillips Band "Abenaki Chief" simply IN MY THINKING, makes a mockery and joke of Abenaki heritage and culture. It insults the Abenaki Ancestors if you ask me. He is merely a puppet, a gullible arrogant (and ignorant) Phillips descendant who operates much like his relative Richard "Black Horse" Phillips who created the group incorprate "Abenaki Nation of Vermont" with Rudolph Kent Ouimette, Wayne Hogue, which later several others signed onto, such as Howard F. Knight Jr. (Those particular documents will come onto this blog later but assuredly will make their way onto this forum for the public to review and evaluate)
Stevens is not the first Phillips descendant to follow in the footsteps of the family's patriarch. According to Phillips oral history from the dubiously accurately recorded Eugenics Survey documents, Peter Phillips (son of Antoine) led his people and only a few decades ago, Richard “Blackhorse” Phillips, held the torch for a time. Truthfully, Richard "Black Horse" Wilfred Phillips appointed himself as President of a mere incorporation and solicited membership into that incorporation. It was not a historical legitimate tribe of Abenakis.
In regards to the tribe's decision, Willard states, “Aside from Don's experience in native affairs and his passion for the cultural revival and well-being of the Abenaki people of Vermont, the Phillips family, or more specifically, the descendants of Chief Antoine Phillips, have deep roots in this territory B.S. and have been a major presence here for centuries. I can't think of a better way to honor manipulate that history.” Humbly accepting the tribe's appointment, Mr. Stevens says, “As Chief Incorporate President, I will do what is best-for-me for our tribal Incorporate members and work for the greater good-for-me of the Abenaki people. I will work with anyone including other manipulators and liars (expropriators) who is willing to advance our people forward in their ever increasing B.S. We need to heal LIE about our nation Incorporation and remember that we are the same people with the same struggles LIENG ThIEVING WAYS. I look forward to celebrating making up our customs and traditions as an incorporation people and leaving the politics TRUTH to those at the State House” to some day realize.
Don "Wanna-be Inc. President" Stevens continued, speaking of Luke "Skywalker" Willard, “By stepping down as chief Incorporate President and taking on the duties of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, Luke is showing the native community "VT indegenous Alliance a.ka. alleged and re-invented Abenaki Alliance" his willingness and desire to work with all Abenaki "The Alliance" in the State of Vermont while fulfilling a promise that he made when he became chief Incorporate President ... 'No Abenaki left behind'.”
It seems unfitting and almost poetically absurd that the tribe incorporation who has identified themselves occasionally and recently as “Old Philip's Band” (because of the Memphremagog and Nulhegan basin territory that was granted by Coosuk Chief Philip in the late 18th century), is now led by... a Phillips. Actually he is a Stevens, not a Phillips. He is merely another descendant of Peter Phillips, who in all liklihood, perhaps was of Mohawk descent, not of "Abenaki" descent. Then again, this concocted and self promoting "VT Abenaki Alliance" REFUSES TO PROVIDE GENEALOGICAL EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING CONNECTING THEIR GROUP(S) AND OR MEMBERS TO THE HISTORICAL ABENAKI COMMUNITIES OR ANCESTORS.

Dawn Marie (nee: Dague) Macie, born July 18, 1959 in Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont (as was her father and mother!) daughter of James Walter Dague and Nancy Lee (nee: Cote) Dague -Thomas (well who knows IF the late Nancy Lee Cote actually married Charles Wendell Thomas?) - Rolls. Dawn is holding one of her "Abenaki" hand drums, smiling for the camera. NOTICE the Indian-ish necklace and the ring as well. It's like these people are "so insecure" in their concocted assumed "Abenaki" persona's that they got to wear as much Indian-ish jewelry, chokers, and clothing, to "prove to those around them, that these people are indeed, "Abenakis."

September 16, 2010

Williston Observer

Page 17

Region & State

Vermont law gives tribe hope for recognition

By Lisa Rathke

The Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Members of Vermont Indian tribes have renewed hope for state recognition, which some have been seeking for decades and the Abenaki tribe needs to sell its signature baskets and other crafts as Indian-made.

A new state law creates a process for a Vermont commission to recommend tribal recognition, which the Abenaki hope will also allow them to seek federal funding for education and other benefits.
“It’s not just for us. It’s for kids, it’s for our grandkids,” said Dawn Macie, 51, of Rutland, a member of the Nulhegan band of the Abenaki. Dawn Macie has had two children, and on their VT birth record certificates, NO FATHERS were named...so of course, "its not just for us, its for kids, its for our grand kids." This is yet another media campaign by these people "propping up their children" to benefit the adults of these incorporation's, to my thinking.
Gov. Jim Douglas appointed Dawn Marie (nee: Dague) Macie, who makes Abenaki drums, jewelry and bags, to the revamped commission, which will meet for the first time next month.
Under federal law, artisans must be members of state- or federally recognized tribes Incorporation's – or be certified as nonmember Indian artisans by a tribe Incorporation – to sell their wares as Indian-made.
Such labeling of crafts would allow the tribe incorporation to “really sell them for what they’re worth,” Macie said.
Drums that sell for $90 to $130 could go for up to $200, she said. Handmade, intricately woven grass and splint ash baskets range from $20 to more than $1,000. Greed?
At least 1,700 Vermonters say they are direct descendants of the Western Abenaki tribes inhabited all Vermont and New Hampshire, and parts of Maine, Quebec and New York for hundreds of years before the arrival of the Europeans. They include the Missisquoi and Cowasuck Abenaki who farmed the river floodplains of Vermont at least as long ago as 1100s AD, the law said.
But the state of Vermont has been reluctant to recognize the Abenaki, in the past fearing it could bolster one tribe’s groups bid to win federal recognition, which opponents said could lead to land claims and gambling casinos. (There are no federally recognized tribes in Vermont.)
Over the years, the Vermont attorney general’s office has questioned the Abenaki tribe’s these incorporated group's heritage in Vermont and opposed federal recognition, which the Missisquoi tribe Swanton based "St. Francis-Sokoki" group was denied in 2007.
The new law and commission are a step toward state recognition, commission members and legislators say.
“It’s not about casinos, land grabs,” said state Sen. Diane Snelling, R-Chittenden, co-sponsor. B.S., it isn't.
The law is intended to address the shortcomings of a bill passed in 2006 that created the commission and recognized the Abenaki as a minority population in Vermont, but failed to allow them to label their crafts as Native American.
It’s more objective than a bill that failed in 2007 that would have recognized three distinct bands of Abenaki incorporate groups of alleged and re-invented "Abenakis", Snelling said.
“We tried to figure it out who qualified before. There was a lot of energy around, ‘Well, some tribes just automatically qualify.’ … Now they’ll set some standards and then everybody who meets the standards is in,” she said.
Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have state-recognized tribes, said Ken Van Wey, program assistant for the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, which is part of the U.S. Department of Interior.
North Carolina and Virginia have commissions that identify tribes that are not federally recognized, for the purposes of selling arts and crafts.
The Vermont law changed the makeup of the commission, and expanded it from seven members to nine. Members must be Vermont residents for at least three years Big Deal and from a diversity of affiliations and areas of the state Again, Big Deal. The commission includes several members in their 20s. So what?, younger or older, these VCNAA members presently advocate for and are members of these various incorporate groups in VT.
The law also set up a process for tribes incorporation's sanctioned by the state of VT previously to be recognized by showing that they meet certain criteria which were "created by and advocated for", by Frederick Matthew Wiseman PhD documented by genealogical and membership records THIS IS A OBVIOUS LIE BY the media and other factors.
Applications will be reviewed by a three-member panel of experts. Based on the panel’s findings, the commission will make recommendations for recognition to the Legislature, which has the final say.
“I have a lot of hope that the Legislature will act quickly because WE DON'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT "MANIPULATING" OR "LIEING", "BEING NON-TRANSPARENT AND UNFAIR," TO GAIN RECOGNITION FROM THE VT LEGISLATURE, CLAIMING TO BE SUPPOSEDLY, THE ABENAKI this has been a very long, long process that has taken many years, and has aged people,” said commission member Luke Willard, of Brownington, the former chief Incorporate President of the Nulhegan band of Abenaki.

From: Anonymous

To: douglaslloydbuchholz
Cc: (redacted)
Sent: Sun, Sep 19, 2010 5:59 pm
Subject: Fw: Tribal Enrollment Form
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald Stevens.....donaldstevens@myfairpoint.net
to his following relatives:

<djayburbo>@comcast.net
<vjburbo@comcast.net>
<bjparrott@myfairpoint.net>
<pscs1955@aol.com>
dianelynn@varinweb.com
"LynFinley"lfinley@msin.net
Mary Kinville<wkinkville@myfairpoint.net
”joyce mcentee”jgmcentee@yahoo.com
“leonard burbo”<fire2347@yahoo.com>
This email was sent to Burbo’s and Phillips descendants with the above email addresses, etc. Someone before I got this, redacted some names to the emails:
Sent by Donald Stevens: Monday, September 06, 2010 8:48 PM
Subject: Tribal Enrollment Form
To all my relatives,
I will be assuming a leadership role in the Nulhegan Tribe in which our ancestor Antoine Phillips was Chief back in the 1800's. I would like to get you and your family all enrolled before our recognition application goes to the State of Vermont for consideration. If you are interested in becoming a Tribal member, please fill out these forms, sign them, and get them back to me or the Tribe. I at least need you to acknowledge your intentions.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to drop me an email. Please follow the instructions so that I can get you on our roles. We need to have all of our Tribal roles up to date by October 1st. Please send this to your any relative related to Grandma Burbo or Antoine Phillips. You can list children that are born to you or adopted. Please do not list step children if they have not been legally adopted as minors.
We will need a copy of your birth certificate, mother and father's birth certificate. You need the birth certificates that link to Grandma Burbo or the Phillips bloodline.
I have received the Birth Certificate of Aunt Mary Lemons so I will not need this from Carrie or Bobby. However, I will need yours and your childrens. I also have my mom's so Joyce McEntee (Don Stevens' sister), I will only need yours, the Kids, and grand kids...

My address is:
Don Stevens
156 Bacon Drive
Shelburne, VT 05482
Be Well,
Don Stevens

MY RESPONSE:
"Soliciting membership" into the so-called Nulhegan/ Old Philips' Band Incorporation, Don Stevens Jr. and Luke Willard etc., CLAIM that their group's Inc. and their membership is "historical," implying that the people that are in the group, have always been connected to the group. Their claims and proclamations in the media etc are rather hysterical, not historical! Rather this email of early Sept. 06, 2010 (BEFORE these people's PR media article Campaign)...from Donald Stevens...indicates VERY STRONGLY, that their claims are obviously LIE'S and merely more of their political shenanigans (meaning "devious manipulative tricks used especially for underhanded purposes." 2. a : tricky or questionable practices or conduct — usually used in plural).
Donald W. Stevens Jr. solicited information about the Phillips Family from Judy Dow and Nancy Gallagher (who wrote the book, "Breeding Better Vermonter's") while serving on the VCNAA (Commission) retrospectively-speaking. Secondly, he decided to communicate with my person by email and telephone format, seeking further genealogical information about the Phillips ancestors and descendants (NOT TO USE GENEALOGICALLY just for himself or his family) BUT TO USE SUCH INFORMATION, DISRESPECTFULLY AND CLANDESTINELY, on a POLITICAL LEVEL. He stated that he wanted his and my communications via email to be "confidential." WHY? The answer is, because he didn't want no one to know WHERE he got the information from, in the first place (playing games with April Merrill?) or simply because HE DID NOT KNOW A DAMN THING about the Phillips ancestry or the descendants, WITHOUT OUR HELP?
He uses Yaratz' book of information and the Eugenics Survey data, as FACTUAL records; yet neither of which is SOURCED. None of which is supported by REALITY,, historically or comtemporarily-speaking. That is MY OPINION, take it or leave it.
Either way, I think every politician in Vermont ought to see this email from Don Stevens and think twice, perhaps three times, before allowing themselves to be "hoodwinked" by these various incorporation's who claim to be "Abenaki Tribes" etc.
Vermont is setting a stage, a very dangerous foundation, if the state legislature or the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Board allows incorporation's to be re-invented into Native American Tribes and or Bands. Such actions will have dire consequences against any legitimately documented Native person, community and Nation, across this entire country!

Contrary to the mantra chant, that Rep. Vincent Illuzzi, Rep. Hinda Miller and Rep. Senator Diane Snelling keep singing in these "Abenaki" media articles, just the FACT that Tom O'Bomsawin's brother David O'Bomsawin is standing in this group photograph of which Dennis Paul Steele, Luke Willard, Dawn Macie and Keith Davis are also therein, of this so-called Nulhegan Inc.'d group, informs my person, that this group is eye-balling gaining State of VT "Abenaki" Recognition, and subsequently, in Federal or U.N. Court (at least attempting to) go after the June 1796 Old Indian Philips Land Grant, which encompasses northwestern Vermont. Tom Obomsawin researched that Land Grant while living in No. Stratford, N.H. (his brother still resides in that local area), and it would not surprise me in the least, that Bea Nelson and or "someone" whispered into Luke Willard's ear about "going after this Land Grant of 1796," once State Recognition is obtained, to hell with the State of Vermont, these incorporated groups will not only take an inch forward, these groups will take a mile or more! Don't think I am right in my conclusions (?) well....time will tell....won't it?!

The "Abenaki" Plot Thickens....Part 6: May 14, 2010 Signing by Gov. Jim Douglas of Amendment Bill S.222~Gov. Wanna-Be of Vermont Dennis Paul Steele of Kirby, Vermont~Article Regarding April Merrill of May 28, 2010 Etc:

From left to right, here one can see Luke Willard, Nancy Millette-Doucet, Rep. Hinda Miller (who "belongs to the Jewish Tribe", Fred Wiseman Sr. whose standing behind Gov. Jim Douglas whose seated, in the black shirt is Donald Warren Stevens Jr., and person in the yellow-red tie is Charles "Megeso" Lawrence Delaney Jr. This photograph was taken in mid-May (14th) of 2010 at the signing by Gov. Douglas of the Senate-Amended S.222 Abenaki Recognition Bill Amendment. The House version failed.

~So much for transparency and fairness~

Again, they are all "smiles" and satisfied looks on each of their faces. Not one of them has been willing to provide the physical evidence genealogically-speaking, that would documentarily connect them to the Abenakis. So, the question still remains, are they really Abenakis or "alleged & re-invented Abenakis"?

Against all odds, law backs Abenaki effort

May 15, 2010

"Illustration"

Charles Delaney-Megeso (right) of Burlington speaks with Gov. Jim Douglas in his ceremonial office of the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday. Douglas signed a bill that helps the Abenaki come closer to state recognition.

More like it was the signing of a "Just-For-Us-State-Recognition"

Rookie lawmaker takes heat in effort to gain recognition for Vt. tribes

By Terri Hallenbeck

Free Press State Writer

MONTPELIER -- It would be easy to argue that Rep. Kesha Ram, the Legislature's youngest member in her first term in office, had no business weighing in the centuries-old issue of official recognition for Vermont's Abenaki that had eluded a long line of her predecessors.

Before it was over, the 23-year-old lawmaker from Burlington managed to become the target of a torrent of e-mails and blog postings filled with anger and hate. She was accused of being a racist. There was talk of marching on Montpelier to ruin her career.

She also helped forge an agreement that just might suceed where previous

"Illustration"

Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, speaks with a colleague on the House floor Wednesday at the Statehouse.

efforts have failed. Gov. Jim Douglas signed the bill into law Friday morning with several Abenaki leaders looking on.

"We have a very bight and positive future ahead," said Nancy Millette Doucet, chief of the Koasek Traditional Band See Abenaki, 4A

What the Abenaki recognition bill does

Gov. Jim Douglas signed a bill Friday that sets criteria for Abenaki tribes to gain official state recognition, in hopes that that will allow tribe members to sell arts and crafts as native-made. Highlights of the bill:

*Expands the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs from seven to nine members, with all nine to be newly appointed by the governor and a chairman to be chosen by the members. If a tribe gains recogntion. It will have priority for a seat on the panel.

*Sets a process and criteria for granting recognition after review by a three-person expert panel. The commission would then make recommendations for recognition to the Legislature, which would make the final decision.

*To view the bill, visit www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2010/bills/Passed/S-222.pdf.

The Burlington Free Press Saturday, May 15, 2010

"Hinda (Miller) took the ball to the 50-yard line. Kesha (Ram) took it all the way to the 5. Then there was a crowd of people who ushered it the last 5 yards."

Yet no where in the photograph does one see April St. Francis-Merrill, Louise Lampman-Larivee, Richard "Skip" Bernier, etc. I guess Judy Dow, Tim de la Bruere, nor Rep. Kesha Ram "weren't invited"? Also, what does the "title" of this illustration really represent; that "Abenaki Recognition" in the state of Vermont, is some sort of game? I can just "see" the Kahniakehake People, the Aln8bak of the Waubanakiak People's, Anishinaabek People's thinking this assault on Native Identity, and their remaining retained "limited sovereignty", as some sort of game. I do not find it funny or comparative, to insinuate that what is happening in Vermont and New Hampshire, to a game. This whole dynamic is NOT a game at all. I find it a blatant mockery of Native People's who HAVE HAD TO submit their genealogies to PROVE who they are in order to retain their Native Identities and yet in Vermont this is not an absolutely definitive requirement...and that these people's genealogical connection to the Abenakis is not required to be made part of the Public Record. What is happening in Vermont and New Hampshire ought to piss off every Native human being in this country in my opinion. Then again, maybe I am just over-reacting?
Everyone wants to be an Indian, and every so often someone in the bunch also wants to be a Chief or a Shaman, all because their 9th or 11th Great Grandmother was allegedly some supposed Algonquin, Abenaki, Huron or Indian Princess! Then they create incorporations sacntioned by the State, to suck off the Federal System (monies that are meant to go to legitimately documented Native People's)....only to harass the state Legislative representatives repeatedly in their leathers, feathers, and plastic beaded headbands, to get the state to validate or re-invent those incorporations in Vermont, into being legitmate "Tribes" and or "Bands" of Abenakis.

May 15, 2010 Page 4A

ABENAKI: Tribes gain form of recognition

Continued from Page 1A
...of the Koas in Newbury, even as she and fellow Abenaki acknowledged the bill was not quite what they had hoped for.
"It's not what we wanted," said Fred Wiseman of Swanton, tribal historian for the Missisquoi band of the Abenaki who helped negotiate the bill (and who created the recognition criteria for such bill) , but he added, "We're satisfied."
Sen. Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, who started the renewed effort to solve the recognition conundrum, summed up why the issue is so difficult. "It's not only legislation and a bill," she said. "It deals with the hearts and souls of people."
Efforts to gain recognition as an American Indian tribe have eluded the Abenaki for generations. The federal government turned down applications for official recognition. (No, that is not true. There was ONLY 1 group...who applied for Federal Recognition. That Swanton, VT incorporate group took their application "off the BIA table" and merely some years later....put that same application for Federal Recognition "back on the BIA table"; and were subsequently denied Federal Acknowledgment because April St. Francis-Merrill, Federick M. Wiseman, nor John Moody could not validate their claims of being Abenaki let alone Native Americans regarding their submitted historical, social or genealogical documention) .
State recognition has seen fleeting success followed by bitter disappointment. Recognition granted in November 1976 was rescinded in early 1977. (Such State Gov. Proclamation/ State Recognition was rescinded because Gov. Thomas Salmon was attempting to give a Thanksgiving present back to the alleged and re-invented "Abenakis" led by then Homer St. Francis, Sr. WITHOUT any genealogical foundations as to their claims of being legitimately Abenakis) A 2006 law, heralded with a celebration on the Statehouse lawn, ended up not meeting federal rules that would allow Abenaki to sell arts and crafts as native-made. A 2008 effort to fix the 2006 law fizzled.
Last summer, Miller, a veteran of the 2006 and 2008 efforts, hosted a potluck dinner with representatives of four core Abenaki groups and several legislators to launch a new effort. Nothing like harassing the Legislature every other year eh. "Just like a child who keeps asking Mommy for a cookie, and hopefully Mommy relents and gives the cookie to the screaming child. The only problem is...once the cookie is gone, the child (these Inc.'d groups a.k.a. "VT Abenaki Alliance" will scream for more MORE MORE. State and Federally.
Driven by shared frustrations with the 2006, the four Abenaki tribes -- the Missisquoi, the Koasek Traditional Band, the Nulhegan Band and the Elnu -- had formed a coalition called the Alliance. The plan was to craft legislation that would grant recognition to those tribes based on their stature in Vermont. (Again, this statement is NOT TRUE, the State of VT Recognition of these 4 groups of alleged and re-invented "Abenakis," would be based solely on their INCORPORATE status with the state of Vermont, under the laws of the state; and NOT based on clear and convincing genealogical documentary evidence of these group's....or their members....actually being from the Abenaki Ancestors).
The Senate passed such a bill in March, sending it the House.
Ram runs into a firestorm
When Kesha Ram was elected to the House in 2008, she asked to be assigned to the House General, Housing and Millitary Affairs Committee in hopes of tackling the Abenaki recognition issue. With a father from India and mother of European descent, Ram said her own heritage and upbringing in California have given her a drive to fight for minority rights.
She said she studied up on the history of the Vermont Abenaki, but was sensitive to the fact that tthe issue long preceded her. "I knew some of this has affected their identity longer than I have been alive," she said.
She has no qualms, however, about raising concerns she had with the Senate bill when it arrived in her House committee. Have the Legislature grant recognition to four tribes would not meet the federal arts and crafts standards, she argued, because the criteria established was not specific enough.
Ram and her fellow committee members also heard complaints from other Abenakis who are not part of the Alliance that they would shut out if the Senate bill became law. The committee quickly became hip-deep in the complexities hat have made this issue so difficult to solve: There is deep-seeded mistrust among various Abenaki tribes about who is really Abenaki and who deserves recognition.
Actually these alleged Abenaki tribes are still incorporated groups, sanctioned by the State Secretary's Office, and NOTHING MORE THAN THAT at this time, until it can be determined IF these or any of these groups are legitimately "Abenaki Tribes". A commission created by the 2006 law was riddled with paralyzing distrust. No, the only distrust that was coming from the VNAA (commission) was from the appointed Chairperson's and this so-called Alliance! There was no distrust coming from anyone else, other than the fact that the members of the VNCAA were fighting for fairness and transparency of the recognition process for all Native People's residing in Vermont. Kesha Ram also fought for "fairness and transparency" in the Recognition process "for the Abenakis".
Ram said the committee tried to turn to neutral sources for information, looking at other state's recognition laws and turning to anyone else for expertise. Everyone had a particular interest," she said. These efforts infuriated the Alliance, whose members suddenly felt they were being left out. Of course, the so-called Abenaki Alliance, like the screaming upset child, wanted their cookie, NOW, not later. It's called "instantaneous gratification" or Instantaneous Recogniton that this "Abenaki Alliance" wanted, without any protest or hesitation (or review) from anyone. Wiseman, a humanities professor at Johnson State College as well as tribal historian, siad his work as a scholar was under fire.
"I was angry, I was frustrated," said Wiseman, an outwardly calm man whose demeanor seems to match his name. Really, not according to what I have read, of his so-called "scholarly work." "My research was called into question for the first time in my career." Really? Because usually the "scholarly work" of any PhD is usually called into question repeatedly by others. It's called "Peer Review" and as an scholar, Wiseman Sr. should expect that his "scholarly work" would be called into question, by anyone.
Don Stevens, a Missisquoi Abenaki from Shelburne who is former chairman of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, sent an email to other legislators seeking to kill the bill Ram and the rest of her committee had rewritten before it reached the House floor. That was because he is April St. Francis-Merrill's "stooge" "puppet" and it was "I want it all, or NOTHING at all." The "Alliance" wants "instantaneous recognition" without genealogical evidence of their group or their members have to prove legitimately anything, especially where it concerns genealogical connection, to the Abenakis.
"We thought we had been hoodwinked," Don Stevens said. No, the only "hoodwinking" that has been going on (and continues to this day), is from the very so-called "Abenaki Alliance" that Mr. Donald Warren Stevens Jr. himself belongs to, and adovcates for.
Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, a member of the House committee, said much of the anger was generated because a proposed bill circulated and was thrown out of proportion. It contained ideas about criteria for recogntion that hadn't yet been considered and weren't necessarily going to survive, he said.
The Alliance's angry reaction spread quickly on the Internet, with Ram as the central target. "I had a lot of hostility aimed at me that made it difficult to keep engaging," Ram said. "There were a lot of moments that were hard for me to handle."
It looked very much like the bill would die. It didn't.
The last 5 years
Despite their anger and sense of betrayal, Wiseman and Don Stevens said they kept coming back to the fact that they really wanted to find a way for Abenaki to sell their arts and crafts as native-made, a marketing advantage the federal government allows only for those in recognized tribes.
"My goal was to see this through," Wiseman said. Based on his own created recognition criteria and manipulation of the recognition process itself. "I've been in this game since 1993." There these people again, calling this Recogntion Process a game. Native Identity and Sovereignty Issues are NOT a game. Of course, to these 4 incorporations "it is a game" because they are already under the laws of the state of Vermont and or New Hampshire, and these groups want their instantaneous gratification of VT-NH State Recognition, the sooner the better for them, so these groups can suck more Grant Monies from any State or Federal sources that they can. It's grand to be paid-to-be-Abenaki these days. It's all about the $$$$. Selling their alleged Abenaki Culture and Heritage to the highest buyer.
Anyone who thought Ram would give up, underestimated her tanacity. She was surrouned by others who wanted the bill to succeed -- her own committee and her roommate in Montpelier, Rep. Kate Webb, D-Shelburne, who was attuned to the issue on behalf of constituent Don Stevens.
When the Alliance would no longer work with Ram, they turned to Webb and Reps. Michael Consejo and Carolyn Branagan, whose Franklin County districts include the Missisquoi Abenaki.
"There just was this incredible miscommunication about what people were doing," Webb said. "My role was to keep everybody playing."
Running out of time as the Legislature;s adjourment neared, they kept playing even if they didn't particularly like all their playmates.
Within a week's time, they settled on a revised bill. it doesn't offer the immediate recognition the Alliance had hoped for. Instead, tribes may apply for recognition to a new commission, which will rely on a three-person expert panel to make recommendations for recognition to the Legislature.
"This is the second-best thing to direct recognition," Don Stevens said.
Consejo, who had fought to kill the House version of the bill at one point, said the final product is a good balance, which surprised him. "Against all odds, it was done with the cooperation of everybody. Most of us didn't think would happen," he said. What Rep. Consejo does not state, was that everyone was delighted with "this version of the Abenaki Recognition bill S.222 Amendment, that was passed by the VT legislature, at all.
Webb summed up the long process this way, "Hinda took the ball to the 50-yard line, Kesha took it all the way to the 5. Then there was a crowd of people who ushered it the last 5 yards."
Ram said, "The entire bill was a journey for me."
As Douglas signed the bill Friday, Don Stevens warned the governor that the journey isn't necessarily over. Of course not, the concocted "Abenaki Alliance" has more games to play with the politician and residents of Vermont assuredly in the future. "This is only half the battle," he said. "You have to appoint good people to the commission." What Donald Stevens Jr. actually was meaning, was that Gov. Douglas better appoint the "Abenaki Alliance" members onto the newly constructed VCNAA (commission) so that the "Abenaki Alliance" could attempt to continue "hoodwinking" the VT Abenaki Recognition Process and VT Legislator's. The game that the "Abenaki Alliance" continues to play goes on.....

Looking at the historical past, it struck me reviewing this May 15th, 2010 photograph, that Gov. Jim Douglas has merely repeated what the retrosepctive Gov. Thomas Salmon had done in late November 1976 with "Abenaki Recognition". Here, Gov. Jim Douglas is "sitting in that finely carved ornamently carved King's "ceremonial" chair, in His "Ceremonial Room" like some King of England, granting away with the stroke of His fancy pen, the integrity of the Abenaki People's....all the while "King" Luke Willard, "Queen" Nancy Millette-Doucet, "Jewish tribal member" Rep. Hinda Miller, "Professor PhD" Frederick M. Wiseman (with the digital camera) and Charles "Megeso" Lawrence Delaney stand around, clapping their hands (Don Stevens is in some of the photo's but not this particular one) and the whole lot of them, grinning at what they have supposedly succeeded in doing.

"HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF" is truly what comes to my mind. What does the Gov. of Vermont Jim Douglas care (or even give a damn) since of couse, like Gov. Thomas Salmon at Thanksgiving 1976, he'll be leaving Office pretty soon anyway. Better to help re-write "Abenaki" history in Vermont dealing with dubious people and inc'd groups sanctioned by VT than be called a supposed "racist"; better than to relate politically to genuine Abenakis from an Abenaki historical community. In conclusion, looking at this photograph, it certainly reminds of a statement a friend recently said to me, about this photo, "Fools Faces are often seen in Public Places." My reply: Isn't that the truth!

Here is Dennis Paul Steele, politican running for VT Gov. in November 2010, shaking hands with Ralph Skinner Swett, who is "Chief" of the "Clan of the Hawk, Inc." in Evansville, Orleans County, Vermont. Dennis Steele, has "known Ralph Swett for years, since Dennis was young person." Clan of the Hawk, Inc. is a self-proclaimed "Indianist group," that sometimes declares itself to be an Abenaki Tribe as well.

Dennis Paul Steele's website "Dennis Steele for VT Governor" LINK: www.governorsteele.com He claims that he has a political platform: which is secession from the United States. Daniel Steele’s an active member of the Second Vermont Republic movement (publishers of Vermont Commons newspaper) and thinks Vermont must secede from the United States to avoid economic and social catastrophe. He believes the United States has lost its “moral authority” and that deepening federal deficits make it a “sinking ship” that Vermont should jump off of. Seceding would keep Vermont afloat, he believes, by reclaiming the $2 billion Vermonters currently pay into the U.S. Department of Defense budget. Steele served in the U.S. Army for three years in the late 1980s — he joined to get money for college — and served as a helicopter crew chief.

Dennis Steele is a Native American Abenaki Indian from Vermont and a Northeast Kingdom businessman who recently launched the highly successful Internet radio station, Radio Free Vermont. Organized to promote Vermont music and Vermont musicians, Radio Free Vermont now has listeners in over 120 countries worldwide.

In 2003 Dennis started what has become a very popular chess-playing website of which he is sole owner and CEO. Over 200,000 people worldwide regularly play chess on this site.
After spending three years in the U.S. Army and a number of years in Hawaii and California as a sales executive, Dennis, his wife, and two children moved back to his hometown of Kirby, VT in 2006. Since that time Dennis has been an active supporter of the Second Vermont Republic and the entire Vermont independence movement.
Mr. Steele has a B.A. from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. He has been the recipient of numerous academic and military honors. He participates frequently in community affairs. An avid hunter, Mr. Steele often processes the family’s meat himself.
Steele’s political philosophy can be summarized by the following statement, “The gods of the American Empire are not the gods of Vermont.” He is committed to the return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic as it was between 1777 and 1791. When he is elected governor, he will call a statewide convention to consider articles of political independence. He will simultaneously do everything in his power to bring home Vermont’s National Guard troops immediately.
The theme of Dennis’s gubernatorial campaign is “Imagine… Free Vermont.” He can be reached at radiofreevermont@gmail.com, tel. 802-748-3475, or P.O. Box 28, E. St. Johnsbury, VT 05838. His website is http://www.freevermontradio.org/.
Review the afore-mentioned website, its quite revealing. I am sure he would immediately upon becoming Gov. (or should I say King or Dictator of the Sovereign Republic of Vermont?) subsequently grant "instantaneous state recognition" to the "Abenaki Alliance of VT," just as I am assured that this man, watched "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson (in Blu Ray format) way too many times! Dennis Steele relocated out of Vermont, to California, married and had two children. Big Deal. IN MY OPINION, now he's promoting a militia seperatist movement within Vermont. He's got an agenda, and like any politician, the smile's, the Carhartt pants, and the persona (just like the "Abenaki Alliance"), such does not mask the whacked out political nuttiness of these sorts of people. He's just another late Homer Walter St. Francis Sr. running for Governor of Vermont. He also claims to be "Abenaki." He was born November 03, 1967 in Connecticut, his wife Amber Antoinette (nee: Sprouse) was born in California. The couple lived in Paso Robles, California, but now live in Kirby, Vermont. I relocated to Vermont where some of my "Abenaki" ancestors come from too. Big Deal. That doesn't make me "special," better than or less than anyone else, and because I might have an Abenaki ancestor in my family geneaology doesn't make me "special" either. Neither does it mean that Dennis Steele, politician and wanna-be Gov. of Vermont, has all the answers to the problems in our society, as a state, or as a country. He who assumes he does is a fool, in my opinion.

Photo by Donna Laurent Caruso

Baskets such as these were once the sole means of monetary survival throughout "New England" in the 19th and 20th centuries. (Actually that is not true. Documentarily and historically-speaking the Native People's throughout "New England" were capable and did work in various occupations of work, such as farming, mill work, woolen mills, logging, carpentry, iron working, blacksmithing, etc throughout the 19th and 20th centuries) The art is now in in revival, with or without federal recognition. The above basket is ca. 1930 to 1950, with the color dyed ash splint of a Canadian Native made basket, using Hong-Kong grass, and some sweetgrass. It was a basket, in my thinking, that very likely not even made in Vermont, by these incorporated group's.

Vermont Abenaki Heritage Days

By Donna Laurent Caruso

Indian Country Today correspondent

Story Published: May 28, 2010

Story Updated: May 28, 2010

SWANTON, Vt. -- The Abenaki people will celebrate their culture, promote their crafts, and honor Vermont state Legislators who helped pass new legislation affecting the livlihood and education of the people, at the 18th Annual Abenki Heritage Celebration on the Village Green in Swanton May 29 - 30, 2010.

"Circle of Courage will be here, which is very exciting, because this year represents the first in many when our band has had a youth drum," said Chief April St. Francis-Merrill, of the Abenaki Self-Help and Tribal Headquarters in Swanton.

Abenaki will honor state legislators "who worked dilligently to pass S.222, which was recently signed by the governor, and that corrects the many flaws of the first state bill so that we can earn a livelihood with our crafts as well as educate our children," she said. April St. Francis-Merrill contradicts the reality of this bill, yet again, in what it actually does, and does not do. It would appear that she is, once again, "counting her chickens BEFORE they've even hatched" in this article.

The list of those who assisted the Abenaki is extensive. Heritage Day celebrants will honor state senators Ashe, Brock, Carris, Illuzzi, Miller, and Racine as well as state representatives Whitney, Branagan, Consejo, Copeland-Hanzas, Savage, and Webb, and legislative counsel Meredith Sumner.

"These people worked very hard to get this first (state) bill corrected. We lost our federal recognition in 2005, even though no one from the federal government visited our homeland or interviewed us. First of all, April St. Francis-Merrill is absolutely WRONG in stating that "her group lost their federal recognition in 2005".....because that group (nor any other in Vermont) NEVER had federal recognition in the first place! Their application petition was denied (which people will be able to see, evaluate and review on this blog in the very near future). Secondly, the Office of Federal Acknowledgment did IN FACT enter into the Franklin County, Vermont geographic area, enter into Town Clerk's Office's, etc. and did IN FACT evaluate and attempt to confirm/ substantiate, that which was meagerly submitted to that federal agency, by April Merrill, John Moody, and Frederick M. Wiseman PhD before the petitioning group was denied. The Office of Federal Acknowledgment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs does not have to "interview" anyone of the Petitioning group, unless that agency wants to. It is the RESPONSIBILITY of the Petitioning group of Alleged and Re-Invented Abenakis of Vermont, to substantiate their proclamations, claims and statements with factually clear and convincing documentary evidence. The O.F.A. repeatedly requested documentary evidence from April, John, and Fred by that agency. That agency was left, looking at their hands thinking, "shit in one hand, wish in the other, and see which one fills up faster." April St. Francis-Merrill did not submit any documentary evidence to substantiate or validate historical, social or genealogical evidence that anyone in her group, was Abenaki, let alone "Indian" or "Native American." Therefore, her petition for acknowledgment by the Federal Government was subsequently denied. She couldn't have "lost federal recognition" in 2005, because she NEVER had "federal recognition" in the first place. Period. In the 1920's and 1930's our people were being sterilized so our way of adapting to that pressure precludes meeting all seven of the federal criteria for recognition This is also NOT TRUE, because when the O.F.A. requested April St. Francis-Merrill and her group to validate and explain how their ancestors related to, reacted or adapted to the Eugenics Survey of Vermont, the O.F.A. simply received NO RESPONSE, from April or anyone else. The Eugenic's Survey was a S-U-R-V-E-Y, not a kitchen-table "Abenaki" sterilization clinic, coming to the Vermont Town-near-you. The Eugenics's NEVER once identified anyone as "BEING ABENAKI, MOHAWK ETC" within it's files. What the Eugenic's did do was IDENTIFY criminal or mentally defective persons (or so the Field Researchers sometimes assumed). The St. Francis family (in small part) were identified by the Eugenics. Why? Because the St. Francis' two or three members were incarcerated for criminal behaviors, etc. It was NOT "because they were Abenakis." In fact, even the Phillips' were identified, not as Mohawk or even Abenakis, but merely that perhaps they were SAID to have possible Mohawk ancestry, as well as French and or African American ancestry. (and please, do not try to insinuate that discussing the so-called present day self-identifying "abenakis" i.e. the Phillips or the St. Francis' as being disrespectful, simply because historically they were in the Eugenic's Survey papers that were merely found in the mid 1980's or so) Fact is, where the heck would any of these people be today, awareness wise, IF those very records had NOT been found, and retained at Middlesex, Vermont...."open" to the public? -- so this state bill is an important one for us." April St. Francis-Merrill said.

Many Abenaki artisans will be available to demonstrate and sell their products. "Last year," St. Francis-Merrill said, "some artisans' tags stated that their products were 'almost Abenaki made.'"

In addition to the newly formed youth drum, the host drum for the event is Negoot-gook, a Maliseet drum from New Brunswick, Spirit of the Wind, a ladies drum from Quebec, and a guest Mohawk drum, Red Tail Spirit Singers.

More than 1,000 people are expected to come to the event, especially if the weather is good. "Passports are an issue for our people, though," the chief April Merrill explained. "Our sisters and brothers, (who are recognized as Odanak Abenaki from Canada), now have to have a passport to cross into the states and many people refuse to get a passport on principle that the Jay Treaty still exists."

Now wait just a minute there....first Frederick M. Wiseman PhD and this concocted "Abenaki Alliance of VT" stated quote, that Odanak Abenakis from Canada are merely "Ex-Patriots" who live in Vermont....and now these same Abenakis, "are our sisters and brothers"?! April and this so-called "Abenaki Alliance" can't have it both ways, to my thinking.

Either Odanak Abenakis are indeed historically and contemporarily as much a part of Vermont today...as they have been in the past (and therefore ought to be "officially recognized" by the state of Vermont...without hesitation or protest...of which BEFORE this article, the "Alliance" did IN FACT bitch and whine, complain, holler, moan and groan...about Odanak people gaining "Vermont State Recognition"..."oh no, Odanak is invading VT to get a Casinoa because they were denied one in Quebec".... "and Odanak 'already' has recongition in Quebec and all over Canada....so they don't need to interfere 'in OUR Abenakis recognition affairs here in VT"....quote)....or as April's "stooge" Mr. PhD Professor Frederick Wiseman liked to call Odanak Abenakis who have for generations been residents of Vermont....that these Abenakis are merely quote "Ex-Patriots" who just happen to be living in Vermont, and Wiseman continued to assume these Abenakis "are not really politically (incorporated) organized within Vermont." I would beg to differ with Fred W. Wiseman's conclusion on that! At least, in conclusion, the Abenakis "from Odanak" do not have to hesitate and protest (or protect) their genealogical connections to their Abenaki Ancestors!

Ironically, born in the states but living in ancestral Canadian territory, film artisan Alanis O'Bomsawin is awarded numerous U.S. honors for her work as an Abenaki artist; she recieved a Luminaria Award for her lifetime achievement

producing documentaries.

Interviews from the Robin Washington TV Library (on You Tube) with the current chief's late father, Chief Homer St. Francis, explain some of the conflicts that arose when the federal government established a wildlife refuge on Abenaki land in the 1980's. The Abenaki of Vermont received federal recognition in 1976, but a few months later, newly elected Gov. Richard Snelling rescinded the act.

Again, the Missisquoi St. Francis-Sokoki group led by the late Homer St. Francis and subsequently he appointed his daughter April as "Chief" of such group, DID NOT RECEIVE FEDERAL RECOGNITION WHATSOEVER. Richard Snelling, the subsequent Governor of Vermont in early 1977 rescinded the former out-going Governor Thomas Salmon's "recognition" because Mr. Snelling obviously was aware that such "recognition" by the State of Vermont, was NOT BASED ON ADEQUATE GENEALOGICAL FOUNDATIONS that this group of self-proclaiming "abenakis" up in Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont were IN FACT descendants of the Abenakis.

Here we see at the 2010 Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont "Abenaki" Pow-wow a photograph taken by none other than Sherrie Gould of Bradford, New Hampshire, Mr. Luke Willard (hands on hips, wearing a Ribbon shirt and sunglasses) who "was" Chief of the Nulhegan but is now merely Vice-President of the Nulhegan, Inc.'d, April Ann St. Francis-Merrill in the white buckskin commercially tanned dress, who is allegedly Missisquoi Abenaki (I say she is merely French and God knows what else, but I certainly don't see Abenaki in her ancestry), and lastly "the Jewish Tribal Member Mrs. Hinda Miller, whose a Democratic Representative of Chittenden County, Vermont who advocated for April St. Francis-Merrill and the other three so-called concocted VT "Chiefs" of the "Alliance" in the Senate Legislature. So, Hinda and the rest of the Legislator's got a hand-clapping thank you and a piece of paper....BIG DEAL. April St. Francis-Merrill and the "Alliance" ought to have made this Jewish Politician a real Adopted Honorary Abenaki, like April's father did to George "Peskunck" Larrabee of Woodberry, Vermont or like Ralph Skinner Swett of the Clan of the Hawk Inc. made Rep. Vincent Illuzzi, an Honorary Chief (and a REAL Indian name to go along with the Certificate too!). 

I don't know whether to laugh at the antic's of this concocted "Abenaki Alliance," or cry at the absurdity of it all.