February 28, 2008 Charles "Megeso" Lawrence Delaney Letter ~ Open Letter to Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas of late March 2008 Pages 1 - 8 :

Letter from Charles "Megeso" Lawrence Delaney to Senator Vincent Illuzzi, Chair of the Economic Developement Housing and General Affairs dated February 28, 2008, Page 1:

Senator, Chair and Committee members....Most all here know myself, Charles Delaney of Burlington, Vermont. I'm writing not for any self-promotion but rather the intergrity of process for these amendments and due process of the commission on Abenaki, Native American Affairs, State of Vermont. dr req 08-705-Draft 3, 2-27-2008 JDH. Sec. 1. 1 V.S.A. & 851, 852, 853,854. Even though I believe this amendment has merit for changes in the original recognition law; one's beliefs and allegance's are secondary to the stardard of equal regulations, standars for all. In other words, please, the standards used by the Legislature for an Individual, Band, Tribe or Indian Nation recognition must be the same criteria, practices of the Vermont State Commission on Abenaki, Native American Affairs. This would rule out impreprity because of Committee's and prevent future lawsuits because of percieved double standands; or the Attorney General's Office given grounds for de-recognition of groups.

As for the amendment set forth by the Vermont State Commission, Abenaki, Native American Affairs. Sec. 1. V.S.A.& 852, 854, 12-26-07, Draft 1. under Sec. 2, V.S.A. & 854, (?) 5 (1) Does "Interested Party" refer to an individual person as a seperate from a Band, Tribe or Nation? Is it inclusive in statute to mean an individual Indian artisan with no group affiliation can apply? If not, please include such meaning into statute for all who are or can be inclusive under the amendment.

Letter from Charles "Megeso" Lawrence Delaney to Senator Vincent Illuzzi, Chair of the Economic Developement Housing and General Affairs dated February 28, 2008, Page 2:

Lastly, State Commission Abenaki, Native American Affairs, Draft 3, 2-27-2008-JDH, Sec. 1. V.S.A. & 854 Page (?) Line 1 refers to the disqualification to vote, participate at recognition hearing if the Commission member is of the same group as the applicant.

This was added to safe-guard the process legally as well as the integrity of the Commission. I don't believe it goes far enough.

There is presently is a Commission member (Timothy de la Bruere) who is a Vermonter, Native Indian, but also has family ties, land at Odanak, Quebec, Canada. In concerns only of voting, a member of the Commission has conflict of interest if decisions to be made of Vermont Indian Artisans are considered economic conflict by our northern peoples (Odanak), who are also Native crafters, artisans.

How can the Statute be worded to allow recusal by a Commission member who is a state citizen with other economic, family or political ties? Please include a safe-guard statement for this amendment.

In any way is this an attack of any Commission member of their character or origin, but rather clarification to strengthen their work ahead through statute.

Thank you,

Charles Delaney

P.O. Box 5862

Burlington, VT 05402

1-8-2-863 6002

Mr. Charles "Charlie" "Megeso" Lawrence Delaney seemingly was (and perhaps still is...) BIASED towards the members of the Commission (especially Mr. Timothy de la Bruere of the Commission) BEFORE he (Charles Delaney) was ever appointed as Chair of the Vermont Commission On Native American Affairs?!

And to ADD CLARIFICATION of what dynamics were going on back in February and March of 2008 regarding the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, Abenaki Recognition and whom the varied "players" were (and still are, in April 2010 regarding the Abenaki Recognition dynamics in Vermont and New Hampshire...)

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From: ETPVT@aol.com (Ralph Skinner Swett)

Date March 23, 2008 3:04 :06 PM

To: jjsnayle@yahoo.com

Subject; Fwd: Open Letter To Governor Jim Douglas. I see no file

THE VERMONT COMMISSION ON NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS:

AN OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR JIM DOUGLAS.

Bigoted comments regarding the native participants in 3/14/08 Senate Hearings regarding Abenaki recognition

Homer St. Francis (the late Missisquoi Abenaki Chief, father of April Merrill, a testifier at the hearing) thought it would be alright to simply drive around without a lisence  (sic) or a place on top of that because he believed both were the way of the white man, spare us all!

Audi

Homer Walter St. Francis Sr. drove around without a license because of his numerous DUI convictions. He couldn't see past the windshield wiper blades, let alone determine if there was a plate on the car.

Wayne

I do not know how your 5% (native ancestry of Vermont Indians) was calculated. It may be correct for many in Vermont. If it is true, I feel for many at the hearings making the claim, it is an overstatment by 5%.

Watso, Bear Clan Odanak

(forumsburlingtonfreepress.com/viewtopic.php?t=42996)

Dear Governor Douglas

Senate Bill S.117, the historic 2006 statute recognizing the Abenaki people of Vermont, established a Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs to represent the collective interests of Vermont's indigenous population. As part of the statute, the Missisquoi and other formal (Incorporated *under Vermont State Law...) Abenaki groups were provided the official opprotunity to advise the Governor on the selection of Commissioners. Under this authority, we, the four Organized Tribes of Vermont, insist that, that the Commissions as it stands, not be reappointed at the conclusion of their Commissioner's tenure. Our reasons are discussed below, supported by appended documentation.

In addition, in 2006, the Vermont Governor's Commission on Native American Affairs (which was about to be superceded), sent you an important message regarding the VCNAA selection process. It was their last official act. It cautioned the Governor in his selection of Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs commissioners to be appointed under the S.117 bill, to assure their ethnic identity and commitment to representing the interests of Vermont Indians, both individual and collective in its relations to the state (1). Governor's Counsel Suzanne Young informed the former Commissioners, through its former Chair, Dr. Jeffrey Benay, that the Governor's Office chose not to follow these recommendations. We believe that, had these recommendations and guidelines been followed, we would not be where we are today.

Unfortunately, thre has long been discontent in the Vermont Abenaki community

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with regards to the actions of the Commission. The hostility of the Commission to Vermont Tribal political initiatives led, in early March 2006, to Koasek Abenaki Brian Chenevert (2), Koasek activist Nancy Millette (3), Missisquoi Chief April Merrill (4), Nulhegan Speaker Luke Willard (5) and El-Nu Abenaki Tribal elders (6) to express their individual and collective frustration with the Vermont Commission, basically giving the Commission a vote of no confidence. This dissatisfaction has been exacerbated by the recent $.369 amendment to the S.117 ("Abenaki Recognition") bill, which gives the Commissioin and the VT Attorney General power of denying an Indian identity to the Indigenous peoples of Vermont. This frustration on the part of Abenaki leaders  reflected the general  unrest in the Vermont Abenaki Community. The four organized tribes of Vermont have discovered that some members of the Commission have misused their power to actively thwart individual and collective Tribal desires. These preceived actions on the part of Commissioners were considered so threatening that the VT tribes, some heretofore unfriendly to one another, joined together to undo this threat posted by the commission. Although most Vermont Abenakis recognize the positive efforts of some Commissioners, nevertheless they believe that there overall Commission is compromised. Below we have abstracted a few of our most recent concerns.

The Commission's non Vermont Abenaki interests

There has been a growing concern voiced by Indigenous Vermonters that members of the new Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs may have cultural and political allegiance to political entities outside Vermont. The issuse of Odanak, a Canadian Abenaki reserve, is particularly troubling. Since the fall of 2003, Odanak officials have denied that there are Vermont Abenakis other than Odanak descendants. In a particularly cruel move, Odanak officials collaborated with the Vermont Attorney General's 1995-2006 cleansing of Indigenous Vermonter history and identity, focusing on Missisquoi. In response, Indigenous Vermonters bearing the brunt of this ethnic violence became suspicious of Odanak's interests in Vermont, especially when such hostility continues to disrupt Vermont-Abenaki relations. Ms. Denise Watso, a self-identified Odanak Official, made an impassioned February 26, 2008 plea (including all VT Native American Commissioners except for two) are "portraying" Odanak Abenakis "in public." The arrogance of Odanak's oft-stated position is encapsulated in her pretentious demand that Indigenous Vermonts submit to Odanak's determination of who is and who is not Indian. Such combative pomposity has necessarily exerted a certain toxic effect on Indigenous Vermonters opinion of their former brethern to the North, and perhaps their descendants now living in the Green Mountain State. For example, during testimony to the Senate one March 13, 2008, papers attacking the ethnicity of an attending tribal leader were explicitly given to legislatures by a representatives of this Odanak interest (William Whitney, Northfield, VT, personal communication to Jeffrey Benay and Frederick Wiseman, 3/13/08). That was the documentation I gave to Timothy de la Breuere retrospectively-speaking while attending a VCNAA meeting, some of which documentarily already has been placed on this blog, mainly in regards to Nancy Lee (nee: Millette) Cruger - Lyons - Doucet. Many Abenakis

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question whether VT Odanak descendants harbor similar beliefs in Odanak cultureal and political supremacy. When pressed, they vehemently deny this connection, even threatening further action (8). But if they are empowered by the legislature to decide who is and is not a Vermont Indian, we doubt that they be impartial, given the semi-official position of the Canadian Reserve.

In testimony at the Feb. 25 VT Commission meeting, at least one of the alleged Odanak partisans was vocal in denial of connections to Odanak, affirming that they are Vermont Abenakis only, and only incidentally from Odanak residents. Ms. Jeanne Brink, asserted in testimony that "To say that we (VT Native Commissioners Jeanne Brink and De la Breuere) are on the Commission representing Odanak is a lie (9)." Ms. Brink is a long time professional teacher of the Abenaki experience. Unlike other, more political Odanak partisans, she has admitted that there is an extant Vermont Abenaki culture. Nevertheless, Ms. Brink's professional work throughout Vermont has consisted of promoting Odanak style baskets, teaching Odanak dances, songs, and other cultural systems, and teaching historical realities emanating from the Odanak, Quebec experience, such as the suppression of drums by the Roman Catholic Church. In her teaching, these cultural, historical, and political characteristics are asserted as characterizing the Vermont Abenaki experience. Her literary work has dealt with Odanak language teaching books and dictionaries. While not asserting a political dominancy of Odanak over Vermont, Ms. Brink is the most articulate advocate of Odanak cultural primacy and hegemony on this side of the border. Contrary to her recent Senate testimony, we believe that her authority to sell baskets under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act apparently stems from her admitted band membership at Odanak (10). In a recent departure from her former "non-political" stance, Ms. Brink threatened an Abenaki artist that she would reject Vermont Tribal petitions for recognition before the Commission (11), unless the tribes went along with her position on an Amendment to S.117. This partisan political move, combined with her equivocal position on Odanak ties, only reinforced fears on the part of the VT Abenaki communities against the Commission.

Timothy de la Breuere is the other person on the VT Commission on Native American Affairs who meets Ms. Denise Watso's criteria for being a "real" Indian. He avows a Vermont Abenaki identity (12). He has not accumulated a decades-long history of promoting Odanak culture like Ms. Brink, and is relatively unknown. Nevertheless, he had the singular honor of being the only Commissioner personally sworn in by Governor Douglas. In the reporting of this event, information emerged in the media that caused Vermont Abenakis great concern. A news article contained explicit expectations on the part of the late Odanak Chief Gilles Obomsawin and Vermont politicians Duncan Kilmartin and Michael Marcotte, that Timothy de la Breuere represent Odanak interests on the Commission (13). De la Breuere is a member of an expatriate Odanak group in Vermont is led by de la Breuere's relative, Richard "Skip" Bernier. This organization has been long known to be hostile to other Native Vermont groups, especially Missisquoi. It has attempted to unsurp Missisquoi's position in relation with Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine (14). Apparently de La Breuere, shares some of Bernier's

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and Watso's opinions (7) regarding Vermont Abenakis, saying that "there wasn't an Abenaki in this state except for his family" (15). Such explicit statements, made to other Vermont Abenakis not of Bernier's group, caused great concern regarding his judgement of other Vermont tribes that could potentially seek recognition through the Native Commission. In personal contact with representatives of other tribes, de la Breuere uses combative and implied threatening verbiage. These statements have led one VT tribe (Luke Willard of the Nulhegan group) to have concerns regarding the success of tribal initiatives entirely unconnected to the Commission, such as a Native cultural center for Newport, VT (16). Vermont Native Commisson Chair Mark Mitchell has complained that de la Breuere told him that during a lunch meeting that Governor Douglas indicated to him (de la Breuere) that the Commission's composition would not change. Subsequent discussions with Suzanne Young, Governor's counsel, revealed to Mitchell that the luncheon meeting never happened. When a compromise between the Commission version of an amendment to empower tribes to recognize artists, and a competing one by the Koasek and Missisquoi Abenaki was in the process of negotiation, de la Breuere indicated to the representative of another tribe that "the amendment will fall as Gov. Douglas has already expressed his intent to veto (16)." These data document an expectation on the part of VT legislators that de la Breuere represent Odanak's positions at the Commission, revean an overt over lack of impartiality, and a perceived problem of manipulating the truth in Commission business.

A question of identity and the appearance of abuse of power

The difficulty that we, the Four Organized Vermont Tribes have with Commissioner Judy Dow is due to the possibility of identity fraud and abuse of political, and to a certian extent intellectual power, within the Commission or VT political world. Heretofore, the tribes have not pursued identity fraud issues. However, the written attack on Koassek leader Nancy (nee: Millette) Lyons (now married to Mark Doucet)' ethnic identity at the March 13, 2008 Senate hearing and in the press, by partisan Odanak supporter William Whitney of Northfield, VT (personal communication to Jeff Benay and Fred Wiseman 3/13/08)(as well as the Watso quote at the beginning of this article), has brought identity politics to the fore in this conflict between Odanak/Commissioners and the Four Organized Tribes. Ms. Dow is a self identified Abenaki who is a member of the all-Native Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, and is accepted in the larger New England Community as an Abenaki basket maker from Vermont. She makes a living, in part, based on a well-cultivated Abenaki identity. She is explicit  that "I am an Abenaki basket maker" (17) with "deep ancestral roots to the Moccasin Village in the Winooski Intervale (18) or alternatively, the "Winooski family band of Abenaki" (19). She has been making baskets for 40 years, or since she was perhaps 13 years old; "I know who I am," she said. "People don't really say to me, 'Is this an Abenaki basket?'" They know I'm Abenaki." (20). However, according to Nancy Comstock, a woman who claims to be Dow's sister, her family is not Native. Unfortunately, many Vermont families have factions that claim differing ethnic identities, especially a Native ancestry. However, our issue of concern is more than ancestry; it is personal cultural history and veracity, the foundations of Dow's ethnic authority and

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livlihood. We believe that family testimony has revealed deception in this foundation. Ms. Comstock said they (Judy Dow's family) did not grow up at the Winooski Intervale and stories that Dow tells about gathering and walking on the trails are untrue. Comstock said she had never hear of Mocassin Village and Dow's "father grew up at Convent in the New North End, Burlington not Winooski." Comstock said Dow was definitely not raised in the Native way. "They (Dow's family) were not raised knowing they were Indian". Instructively for other issues applicable to the Commission to the Commission discussed below, Comstock described her sister as a fraud, saying "Judy lies so much that she believes her own lies" (21). This familial assertion of identity fraud was reluctantly supported by Chief April Merrill, who disclosed (on March 6, 2008), that Ms. Dow had applied, but was not able to meet the requirements for tribal citizenship in the St. Francis/ Sokoki (Missisquoi) Abenaki band. Although declining to go into details of the case due to the confidential nature of the applicant's file; Missisquoi's citizenship requirements applicants to demonstrate a documented descendency from a known Abenaki individual, family or band. This genealogical database includes historically known Abenaki families in the Burlington, VT area. An reason for Missisquoi's collaboration with the Intervale Center in Chittenden County to properly deal with Native concerns in the lower Winooski River Valley. Recently there have been several problems that have surfaced with regards to Dow's claims that arise from the issues of character referred to in this section (22).

Although there have been many disagreements between Commissioner Dow and other Abenakis over the two years of her appointment, we only sample current issues. The first of these is that Commissioner Dow called for testimony only hostile to a bill amendment in which she had a political interest. The bill amendment in question proposed direct recognition of existing Abenaki bands. Contra Dow's actions, Commission Chair Mark Mitchell was careful to go on the record (twice) as saying that , as far as the Commission was concerned, such actions were entirely permissible (23). In addition, Ms. Dow apparently issed this call by portraying herself as representing the VT Native Commission was as a whole: "The Vermont Commission has requested that representation from families and Bands that oppose this bill, be in attendance to present testimony...For additional information, please contact Judy Dow, Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs" (24). This internet posting and those that arose from it caused pandemonium in the Vermont Abenaki Community, pitting many Native groups against one another in public venues such as i nthe February 25 NCAA meeting and the Feb. 29th Senate testimony. The tenor of this can also be inferred from the source posting (24) for the above quote. Interestingly, some of these heretofore opposing factions have joined together out of frustration with these activities and are signatories to this document.

Several people in the VT and larger Abenaki community have reported that VCNAA Chair Mark Mitchell was told by Judy Dow that Chief April Merrill was disruptive at the February 29, 2008 Senate hearing in Montpelier. Confused assertions going through the VT Native rumor mill include that Merrill screamed

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at people, threatened others, was told by Chair Vince Illuzzi to take her fight outside, and brought her two brothers her two brothers in to "intimidate." These concerns further "stirred the pot of Abenaki unrest," actions that we cannot allow to continue, since it tears our people apart. A videotape of the Senate Committee meeting by Johnson State College Professor Fred Wiseman revealed no such outbursts, but the camera did not record all of the testimony. The people sitting with Chief Merrill were clearly seen in the videotap, and included arcaheologist and former Governor's Advisory Commission on Native American Affairs Commissioner Dave Skinas, Koasek Spokesperson Nancy Millette-Doucet, Missisquoi Tribal Council Member John Churchill and Koasek genealogist Dr. Raymond Lussier. Wiseman was acquainted with Chief Merrill's brothers, and he reports that they were not there (25). Two other people, Dr. Ray Lussier, (26) and Jeanne Lincoln Kent (27) sat near Merrill and, corroborated the videotape data, refuting Dow's alleged report to Chairman Mitchell. They indicated that Chief Merrill was quite restrained, especially considering the tenor of the testimony as revealed in Wiseman's videotape (25). In attempt to undermine the authority of Vermont Bands. Ms. Dow has pointed out the fact that the Federal Government has rejected one Vermont band for recognition (Senate Testimony), 29 February), a move that was seen by many Vermont Abenakis as using Government-sponsored ethnocide for political purposes. Dow went on to say that family bands, not village or tribal organization, was the means of social and political organization of the Vermont Abenakis. This assertion was a cornerstone to her denial of a competing Missisquoi/ Koasek Abenaki amendment that she was testifying against. Mrs. Dow professes expertise in VT Abenaki history also professing knowledge on an extant village of "deep" time depth in the Winooski Intervale (19). As ethnohistorian, and author (26 [bibliography]), Frederick M. Wiseman, points out below (28) the VT Abenakis is functioned at the village and alliance level, a much more complex form of social intergration than the kinship-based family band, although families, both nuclear and extended, were key components of these larger integrative social systems. Either ms. Dow was ignorantof the nuances of Vermont Native history (29) or is misconstruing that history in her testimony for the specific purpose of undermining the credibility of Missisquoi and Koasek, so as to protect her political interests.

Abenaki leaders, who have known of Commissioner Dow's ethnic identity problem, as well as her penchant for assailing other Abenaki individuals and groups by using misinformation, are disappointed and angry. One has said that "she is viscously protecting her well being while trying to take away our (other Abenaki groups') recognition. It makes me ill that a person could do this to not only a group of people but a minority culture that has endured so much pain already (22)."

Conclusion

In the previous sections, we have listed specific problems that representatives of the Vermont Abenaki Community have with the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, and why the Missisquoi, Koasek and Nulhegan Bands, who collectively represent the vast majority of the identified, enrolled Abenaki tribal

Pages 08-15 "Within the Bounds of a Subsistence Oriented Culture..." (Scott E. Hastings Jr. 1982) Native Vermonters in the Miller Pond Watershed: Heritage and Change...

relatively free to do as he liked without interference.

Abenaki Inheritance

In Wallace's time, the backwoods people lived not very differently from their Indian neighbors, in bark houses and simple log cabins put together from the forest. Throughout the settlement of Orange County, it appears that Indian families lived amongst the white settlers, perhaps on the outskirts of the villages, perhaps making claim to various plots of land (Blaisdell, 1980: 109)5, and also intermarrying with the settlers. A number of native families in this watershed area, for instance, are so by virtue of an Indian wife (Howard Knight, 1988-89). This intermarriage indicates a peaceful exchange between settlers and Abenaki. Moody has indicated to me that the Abenaki women were a strong force in their culture; perhaps Vermonters' right to live on this land in part was secured by relationships with Abenaki women. In any event, women as socializers pass on their values and ways of being most powerfully--even without conscious effort, patterns of culture, of behavior and world-view are imparted to children.

In frontier settlement, away from puritanical control, many whites became "Indianized", or "squaw men", living on the outskirts of white society (Hallowell, 1963). To the dismay of Angloamerican leaders, who regarded the natives as heathen savages, a significant number of whites preferred Indian ways to European (Calloway, 1984: 163-164, 170-171)(Axtell, 1981)(Axtell, 1985). Furthermore, to counteract their population declines, the Abenaki captured and adopted many whites, particularly young people, some of whom became Abenaki wives and mothers, and even Chiefs (Heard, 1973)(Huden, 1956, 199-200). In fact, the Abenaki had had quite a long time of association with Europeans, since the beginnings of the fur trade. Contrary to stereotypes of Indians as savage or exotically primitive, many of the Abenaki were heavily involved in intercultural exchange and change well before the British settlers arrived in Orange County. European goods such as firearms, clothing, metals, etc., had been commonly adopted, as well as medicines and Chrisitianity (Haviland, 1981: 210-219)(Cronon, 1983: 103-104). Building construction (Roger's raiders burned down a church at St. Francis), and even literacy were known to the Abenaki. One White chief is said to have been fluent in both French and English (Huden, 1956, 201). Likewise, one of the most famous Indians of Orange County, "Indian Joe", had a father who..."owned considerable property, including 'horses and jacks, neat cattle, and other domestic animals'...(Blaisdell, 1980: 93).

Repeatedly writers speak of the last Abenaki, the dying out, or disappearance of the people (Huden, 1955: 25)(Haviland, 1981, xvi). The Abenaki denied their seperate heritage certainly to outsiders, sometimes even to themselves. Yet, informal polls by Huden (1955: 25) and Michael Caduto (1988)6, indicate that at least 5-10% of Vermonts have Indian ancestry, and researchers continue to find modern Abenaki in their midsts. Genealogically, on can find the trace of Abenaki inheritance amongst many people in the backwoods, particularly in the area I decided to study. because in Western thinking Indianness is attributed to a particular material culture, political structure, or phenotype, as Indians adopt European economics and institutions, they are seen as having disappeared. This seems to be a form of wishful thinking by a culture which continuously assumes it

will wipe out all other cultures, by virtue of inherent superiority. The anthropological version is to see evolution as a form of extinction (Clifford, 1986: 122-113). In fact, however, the Abenaki and Vermonter cultures merged, mutually absorbing each other, as people intermarried, took on each others values, participated in community activities, etc.

In Newbury, for instance, only three towns north of Thetford, General Bailey, and presumably his associate Colonel Johnson, "always befriended the Indians...never one overlooked the Indians in the daily rations...(Hemenway, 1871: 926)" presumably for military service as allies with the French and Americans against the British. Likewise, across the river in Haverhill, "...Captain John Page...lived on friendly terms with the Indians of Cohos...(Blaisdell, 1980: 92)". At the beginning of American settlement thirty Abenaki men and some familiy were in the area, and "...By 1780, there were over  100 Indians living in Newbury, besides a number of Indians from St. Francis who made seasonal visits for hunting and fishing...(Blaisdell, 1980: 90)." Likewise, decades after white settlement, Abenaki continued to live in Wigwams in outside of Newbury, using the land to hunt, fish and trade (Blaisdell, 1980: 108) and there is at least one story of natives protecting their land from desecration in West Fairlee (ibid, 109). Today these Abenaki have local descendants (Moody, 1988-89).

It was during this time, i.e. mid-nineteenth century, that a number of changes were occuring which may have encouraged further assimillation. To begin, the Canadian border was finally closed (Knight, 1988-89). Some Abenaki, who had fought against the British, preferred to stay and become Americans (Blaisdell, 1980: 94). Second, after 1850, the early settlers began to emigrate. Hill tops which had been massively cleared proved not to be agriculturally adequate, and land prices plummeted as the settlers abandoned their farms and went west (Wilson, 1936: 124-138). The pines now began to grow back. Deer were reintroduced in 1878, after their numbers had been severely reduced (Johnson, 1980: 90-91). This may have made Vermont more suitable to live in, although the original ecology which had supported their livlihood was destroyed7.

Finally, economic opprotunities opened up for non-land owners. After the war of 1812, "...certain families returned to ancestral location in the United States to hunt, fish, and guide surveyors and sportsmen...(Day, 1978: 152)." This return may have been a slow process:

"...From about 1865 to about 1950, the ash-splint basket industry brought considerable number of Abenakis back to the resort areas of...United States...Guiding gradually replaced hunting and trapping...until about 1970...(when the)...lure of industrial employment started small Abenaki communities in several Northeastern United States cities...(ibid)"

Many Abenaki survived through migrant labor and seasonal trade, appearing to be gypsies or tramps to townspeople, often following the Connecticut8. Others became loggers, small farmers, road workers, railroad workers, etc. and were able to establish themselves as permanent town residents (Moody, 1978: 58, 59).

Thus, as the flatlander settlers left for better prospects west, the people most tied to the land found a niche for themselves, through work. The back country of Vermont at this time was not an economically

desirable place to live, and local towns and people were relatively undisturbed by outside

influences or controls. In reviewing town and census records, it appears that many of the present families which I associate with local native Vermonters became established from this late nineteenth century period. Instead of calling themselves Indian, they became part of Vermont's working class, at least to outsiders 9.

THE OMPOMPANOOSUCK WATERSHED TODAY

In my research, I found a distinction in character between the West Branch of the Ompompanoosuc River, which travels through the villages of Strafford, and the area lying between the East Brand and Miller Pond/ Skunk Hollow road, which I think reflects the cultural difference discussed about 10.

A. West Side:

Here one sees old farms and names of the descendants of early Orange County settlers, such as the Silloway (Bradford), Eastman, Phelps, Wood, Moody, and Kendalls. I do not as yet have records on the Strafford inahbitants after the initial settlement period, so that I don't know the origins of other townspeople's names such as the Campbell's, and the Lewis' whose farm is for sale. Some, but not all, live in old typical white farmhouses, trimmed with green, visible from the main roads of the village. These traditionally represent middle class Vermonters, who worked in stores, had tidy farms, minded their own business, and smiled politely.

The land here, besides being connected with an open valley and centers of population, has a certain light quality, with few pines, and in some places excellent views. Effort has been made to keep the land cleared and tended, although at the present time no one I interviewed was involved in farming as their primary source of livlihood; with the exception of the Johnsons who moved here from Connecticut 20 years ago to start their orchard. However, there are a number of places which do have animals or which advertise maple products in this area, such as Gile Kendall's beef cattle along the Tunbridge road, or the Finn farm being Huntington Horse Farm.

Amongst those I interviewed, the Silloways keep their land in current use, to avoid taxes, but are too old to farm it themselves. They sold some land to their children, who resold it to strangers. They don't plan to sell anymore. The Eastmans do not farm either, I don't believe, nor do their nearby relatives: although they do grow a garden, some apples, syrup, and flowers, as well as cut wood for heat, and clear brush. Formerly Rowland used to hunt deer. One of his sons lives adjacent to him, the other in South Royalton, as well as a duaghter who was visiting while I was there. Their land is for sale. In both cases, the children appeared to live relatively nearby, near enough to visit and to help with tasks such as weatherizing and repairs. Galdys Wood Silloway takes in washing from the local restaurant.

Whereas the Silloways and Eastmans do not appear rich in any urban sense, they have fairly newer model cars, pretty flowers (i.e. pansies), and keep a need exterior appearance. They were polite when I introduced myself, and above all, seemed welcoming. Likewise, the Coburns I have met seem

friendly and gentle. Objectively, the Silloway's house is "in need" of a coat of paint--it is the typical white with green trim and fading paint farmhouse, comfortable but not ostentatious, which I have come to associate with classic Vermont.

The Eastmans live in a trailer built onto to fit into the land as is commonly done in the Upper Valley. When I visited, Rowland, the senior family member, wore the famous green farmers pants and spit dark liquid constantly, while talking virtually nonstop. His daughter's front tooth was discolored blue, her husband had long hair and they seemed typically working class. I had great difficulty understanding Rowland, as he has a very strong accent, reminding me of Scottish. At least two of his relatives live in West Fairlee, one being the constable at Beanville road living amidst a junkpile and sporting an ornery reputation, the other operating a garage. Eastmans, however, are "everywhere".

The Coburns come from an old Vermont family, and operate the one store and gas pump in town, as well as house the post office and Twin State Bank. I met Stuart Coburn, cousin to the store owners and resident of Vershire, during hunting season which he was driving his green pick up truck slowly on a back dirt road wearing his checked jacket, with a requisite rifle in the back. I spotted him easily as a 'typical' 'Vermonter'. (He smelled faintly of alcohol.) We talked for awhile about who owns the land, how the spot nearby used to be good for hunting, etc. I have spoken with other Coburns in the store, or observed them at Strafford public meetings.

B. East Side

Here, the people and the land are connected to Vershire/ West Fairlee via Miller Pond and Beanville roads, but especially to the Thetford center via Sawnee Bean road, and by family and cultural ties. The energy of the people and of the houses appears different. This area feels very isolated, which it is, from the village. While there are some impressive farmhouses and large tracts still owned by one family, what stands out for me are the smaller dwellings, here and there, not packed together as in town or the village, but distinct. Often they have large collections of rusted, abandoned vehicles, including cars, trucks and farm equipment, lined up or scattered with no apparent organization along the road or waterfront, several old sheds which are halfway fallen back into the ground, gaping holes through grey deteriorated wood, no particular landscaping, usually at least one dog. Some adjectives which come to mind to describe this area are, besides isolated: simple, minimal, modest, upretentious, used. Or even tired, rusty, dilapidated, junky, low income, atypical in color--strong blue, green, possibly tacky. Many, although not all, of these houses appear to have been built within the last forty or so years. One might find a shack, small cabin, a trailer, or unoccupied camp. Often the laundry is hanging out; there seems to be no overriding interest in impressing visitors, at least not with shiny new material objects.

For instance, where Sawnee Bean meets Miller Pond in Strafford, Ernie Stone used to live, until a tractor tipped over on him this Fall. He lived in a small trailer, with countless junk cars sinking into the earth, scattered along the road frontage and even back aways, along with farm equipment and falling down sheds of grey wood and high grass. The general feel was of disorder, randomness, collapse, returning into the earth, and age. Down Skunk Hollow, one passes Ralph Coutermarch, Sr.,

with his several trucks, tractors, old cars, old bed springs, chair frams and other discarded objects or work projects decorating the dirt yard. His work horses are in the barn adjacent to his house, which is typically faded white with green trim. Since he is just barely off the road, a passerby can't miss him, and he has a reputation of 'roughness' locally.

The appearance of the homes might be a reflection of poverty, as well as the cost and trouble of hauling broken or unused items. However, I found that the supposed clutter revealed a practical purpose, such as the repair of a vehicle, done by the owner himself, on the spot. Or some places may have piles of logs and stumps, reflecting the logging livlihood of the inhabitant. Many of these people work long hours, seven days a week, so that adorning one's home would be a foolish luxury. One backwoods person told me explicitly he preferred his home to be comfortable, livable, so one did not have to worry about the furniture. Like one's land, the home is expected to be functional, not a work of art. In Grow, the statement is made that "...Most farmers...don't bother to paint their houses...(1960:90)" suggesting again a rural practicality and custom. Ernest Herbert in the novel The Dogs of March (1979) suggests that collections of junk cars symbolize wealth, as a potential resource, i.e. parts cars, back ups against break down, etc. The retention of old appliances and vehicles might be seen as opposing a society which tosses anything slightly unwanted into the trash, without thought to its cost. Another person I spoke to gave me an even more direct reasoning. He said he left his yard that way the way he did to discourage taxes. He says he'd just as soon leave the road from as messy as possible, and fix the inside, thank you.

When I have driven down these backroads for the first time, I have gotten the feeling I was being watched, like an intruder--often by children. As an example, the last time I was walking along Barker Road, which comes out of Sawnee Bean in Thetford Center, I noticed a dark-haired woman in an old gold station wagon and dingy cream jacket driving down the hill to Post Mills Village. She crossed my path on her way back up and turned int the drive of a small green tar asphalt shingled house sporting a hand printed cardboard sign warning "Ugly Dog". Along the river, to the right, I counted 12 vehicles abandoned. After she turned, the snow plow came by, and then she went back to wait for her kids from the school bus. She then drove up Pero Hill road. I walked by the house, and noted four red letters: PERO--on the front side. I turned around and walked back down Barker Road. As I was walking, the snow plow stopped and asked if I wanted a right-rather unusual, I thought. At first I declined; then thinking it might be one of the four Thurstons who live on Barker road, I accepted, only to find he was in fact a Pero. He said he'd seen me around town, and took me past my car and twice up another road before depositing me. Perhaps he just wanted company--later I wondered if weren't also "checking me out".

As one walks further along Sawnee Bean, one finds more land posted by members of the Pero family. Likewise, going in from Tucker Hill via Whippoorwill, past the chief of the local Abenaki (Howard Franklin Knight Jr.), one comes to Pero posted land, which continues to Sawnee Bean. All of this area--the whole hill, was owned by the Pero family. According to a neighbor, it is now being sold off in pieces, and at the top of Pero Hill are four brand new and very large houses. Reginald Pero, the father of 14, lives in a modest white house with pretty red Christmas decorations.

As I begin to investigate my area more, it became clear to me that this area is inhabited by

people who are related to or have ties with one or more of the Abenaki families in Thetford. Miller Pond lies at the Western edge of what Howard Knight, the current chief of the local Abenaki band, identified to me as the Thetford Abenaki territory, and Tucker Hill delineates the southern edge. He told me that Joe Pero, when he died (Oct. 13, 1983 in Thetford Center, Orange County, Vermont), told them about this area's history and Indian sites. Some of these were recently excavated by the Vermont archaeological society, in opposition to a proposed hydro-electrical plant. Apparently, the original Pero was a shrewd business man, and was able to control this area, away from the main village centers. People like Howard could live at the edges of the land, and be insulated from outsiders. Recently though, Howard has felt hemmed in by new neighbors, as many of my other interviewees did.

Besides the Pero family, there are or have been other Abenaki related families in the area. The enclosed map (not included in the Court Records re: Arthur Marchand) indicates the former presence of the Dodge and Pierce families in the back areas of Strafford. Likewise, the Mannings occupy a number of ajoining spots. Most notably, at the foot of the Pero ridge off of Route 113, before Sawnee Bean, there is a large cleared area, a number of houses/ trailers, logging rigs and old school buses, etc. parked behind the main Manning house. There are also Mannings along Miller Pond and Alger Brook. Formerly, the Mannings' grandmother lived on the Dodge orad, near where John Manning still hunts today. Howard F. Knight Jr. himself lives on the end of a road connected to Pero land, and so on.

Perusal of birth and marriage records for the town of Thetford reinforced the notion that many of the families along Skunk Hollow and Barker Road who live in some of the distinctive sites of the type described above are related in some way either to the Abenaki families I am aware of, descended from families whose history included significant relations with the Abenaki, have a current history of interaction with Abenaki, or have French Canadian ancestry, which may include native ties as well.

For instance, in reviewing Thetford town records, and from recent interviews, I determined that the following relationships exist:

Harry Cook Pero m. Edith Olive Godfrey (Dec. 08, 1912 in Thetford, VT) (gpa of 14 sons, inc. Reggie Reginald Arthur Pero, born April 01, 1928 in Thetford, VT)

Marjorie Grace Pero m. Ralph W. Ward (on March 11, 1936 in Thetford, VT) (Crystal Ward on Skunk Hollw interviewed)

Gladys May Pero m. Geore E. Hodge on May 14, 1932 in West Fairlee, VT (child 1935)

Richard Allen Hodge m. Elaine Mary Stone (1961) (both families on Skunk Hollow Road)

Helen Louise Godfrey m. Wayne Doyle on Aug. 06, 1960 in Thetford, VT (related to trapper interviewed)

Marion Jane nee: Waterman (1st sawmill/ Barker Road) m. Homer Albion Cook on July 21, 1918 in Norwich, VT

Marion Corabelle Cook m. Howard Frankin Knight Sr.

Knight m. Godfrey (1885)

Knight m. Glaser (Barker Road) (child 1963)

Arvin Clarence Manning m. Eileen Joyce Palmer ( Dec. 09, 1950 in Thetford, VT)

Alford Charles Manning engaged to Nancy Eileen Bailey (presently) Married Sept. 30, 1972 Thetford

Ina Inez Lena Bailey m. Stuart Carroll Coburn (interviewee) on Sept. 22, 1956 in Union Village, VT

Coutermarsh m. Marden (1938)

M. Herbert G. Cook m. Vaun C. Pierce (May 26, 1929 in Thetford, VT)

Of these 18 surnames, then have been identified to me as having Abenaki ancestry or relatives. Some of these families can also be traced back to the original settlers. Some, however, do not appear in the official Thetford records or Vermont census until the 1800's (Jackson, 1976-84). This could be

due to incomplete records, migration from other towns, or cultural assimilation. I do not have comparable records from the Town of Strafford, although the cultural connection has always been strong between the two towns (Fifield, 1988). At least two families of this area moved from Strafford to Thetford. perusal of the Vermont Census Index for 1790 through 1890 shows that in Swanton, the central settlement for the Missisquoi Abenaki who are actively seeking recognition and aboriginal rights in Vermont, lived a Manning (1890) and some Pero's-(including a Joseph in 1850--but no Pero listed in Vermont before 1830, and none in 1890 11)(Jackson et al, 1976-1984). This suggests that some of the backwoods Thetford families have genealogical ties with other Vermont Abenaki communities, and perhaps engaged in migration/ intermarriage at that time. The grandparents of the present chief of the Thetford band apparently lived up by Joe's Pond in Danville, named after the famous patriotic Indian Joe mentioned earlier in this paper (Knight, 1989). Finally many of today's "native names" appear as active in Thetford after the period of abandonment of farms mentioned earlier in this paper, and after many Abenaki had adopted Euroamerican houses, dress, jobs, etc.

The recurrence of a few family names on the mailboxes, as well as the intermarriages between those families and the families I know to be part of the Abenaki band gave me a sense that people have consciously or otherwise tended to stay close together, intermarry, and to stay within this particular geographical area for both cultural and ecological reasons. The land is Abenaki land, in the sense that the ancestors, the history, the ecology, and the descendants are there. But it does not fit the definition in terms of exclusiveness, as non-native families live amongst them. Like family bands with loosely knit organization, where people are free to wander and associate, free to vote with their feet, and free to travel in search of better prospects--these people are linked to the land in spirit, in the sense of an ash tree belonging to the earth which gives them substenance (Bruchac, 1987: 2-5).

Nearly all of these families live within close range of Sawnee Bean road, which joins Miller pond and Pudunk with the Ompompanoosuc. Fishing traditionally has been an important resource for Abenaki; today the Missisquoi have been staging fish-ins to demonstrate the importance of this activity to them. It is consonant with the historical and archeological record of settlement patterns of the Abenaki (Haviland, 1981) 12 that they live clustered near both a once navigable river (befor the dam was built in Union Village) and Miller Pond, still used by trappers and fishers today. I noted that my interviewees still value hunting and live near or own property near good or popular hunting spots.

Furthermore, most of the people living in this area do not have extensive farmland. Rather, their homes often are tucked away at the very end of a woodsy dirt road, on the side of a piney, undeveloped slope, or simply lack the impressive quality of an old farmhouse, being instead a moderate dwelling. In general, if farming was practiced, it did not appear to have been on a large commercial scale and I do not remember observing much in the way of domestic animals, other than cats and dogs, although here and there were some horses.

Besides Abenaki, a number of people living in this territory appear to have French Canadian ancestry/ neighbors. Traditionally, the French and Abenaki were close allies, and lived amongst each other, often intermarrying. In Strafford, Countermarsh of course sounds French. I was also told he is Native American, and a number of his comments suggests this possibility. For instance, he

views some of his neighbors as "white farmers", and perfers to grow Indian corn. In Thetford, two Paige families, one sporting a front yard Madonna indicative of French Catholic heritage, live down the road from Howard Knight. Likewise, Reginald Pero lived next door to the Mathieu family, which could be French, although my interviewee mentioned only her Italian ancestry. Finally Claude (Thurston) is a French name. Furthermore, the facct that many of the Abenaki, French-Canadian and backwoods families I identified in Thetford wee also those consistantly delinquent in taxes, in past decades (Thetford Town Reports: 1937, 1941, 1949, 1955, 1970-1979) suggests a continuing cultural affinity between these neighbors, at least economically and/ or politically. Possibly this is due to poverty, possibly due to resistence, or even ornery character--in that case it fits the idea of the outlaw Indian, misfit, petty little problems with the law, nothing serious, which Howard Franklin Knight Jr. referred to as an Abenaki trait, living in white society.

Another family, Thurston, has a strong reputation in Bradford for fighting with the Mannings; and in this area a Thurston was reputed to have burned up Coutermarsh's logging rig, over a dispute regarding timber and land rights. The Thurstons and Mannings and Mannings and Paiges in Bradford and Thetford respectively, apparently have quite a reputation for "rowdy" behavior, amongst townspeople 13. In Post Mills, right off Sawnee Bean, there are four Thurston dwellings, just dowhill from the Pero lands. These include an old house, but also some small do-it-yourself places recently put together with inexpensive, unpainted and unstained wood, on rock foundations, with  holes in their walls, and the like.

In looking back through the census records of the 1800's, and later through the Thetford town reports of the 1900's. It appears that the names and associated professions which I now associate with local Native Vermonters, became well established in Thetford after 1880. Some names involved in my research, either from surveying mailboxes, or from conversations/ interviews, which date in the Thetford area from at leasts from the late 1800's are Coburn, Barker, Blake, Evans, Cook, Palmer, Paige, Waterman, Manning (Sharon) and Pero. Throughout town reports for Thetford from 1900 on, one finds the Knight, Bailey, Godfrey, Pero, Palmer, Cook, Paige, Huggett and Vaughan families consistently involved in road work, cemetery digging, donating logs, and tree warden activities. Today, the Mannings and Peros are loggers. Baileys do well drilling and excavation. Huggett Mobil is a well-established garage in East Thetford. The Vaughan family, has in recent years come under fire for monopolizing the gravel source for the town of Thetford for years. The Cook family's truck likewise can always be seen at the site of Norwich road work--and as one resident put it--"they own the town". Art Pero operates a snow polw/ truck in Thetford Center, while Wayne Manning runs the town Garage in South Royalton. Other self-employed, working families from the watershed whose ancestors did not work for the town, include the Bigelows, whose trucks can be seen in Hanouver, Eastman's garage in West Fairlee, and Steve Ward's garage in Vershire. In Thetford, Claude Thurston oversees the work of Art Pero, and plows the roads as well. In Strafford, Coutermarch reputedly used to log; today he trains and shows work horses who pull logs. Of the above, nine of the working families mentioned were identified as part Indian, by the local Abenaki chief Howard Knight Jr., or by John Moody (1988-89). two others' ancestors had historically recorded, positive relationships with the Abenaki. Their descendants appear to be continuing the pattern of close association.

Pages 1-7 "Within the Bounds of a Subsistence Oriented Culture..." (Scott E. Hastings Jr. 1982) Native Vermonters in the Miller Pond Watershed: Heritage and Change...

LINK: http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2009/12/step-32-forward-along-yellow-brick-road.html

This particular material was received in the same Judicial materials of the Arthur Marchand "Incorporation Protest Hearing" that was held between January 26, 1993 and late February or March of 1993 regarding Arthur J. Marchand of 126 Sterling St. in Worcester, MA created an Incorporation 92-351021 on December 16, 1992.  In mid-November 1992 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of Secretary of State at the State House in Boston, Suffolk County, MA did recieve several telephone calls from "concerned members of the "Abenak Nation" who protested the imminent formation of a non-profit corporation called Centraleastern Woodland Sokoki Band (Inter-Tribal) Corporation. Subsequently, on January 26, 1993 at 10:00 AM, there was a Hearing to decide the issue. Protesting by Homer St. Francis Sr., Howard F. Knight Jr, Paul W. Pouliot, Robert Maynard and Roger DeShanais (including numerous other persons who attended) who testified in person as well as wrote written protests etc. against the formation of afore-mentioned non-Profit Incorporation. Following the material already submitted and placed into this blog the following material documentation was within the Hearing material, obviously submitted by Howard Franklin Knight, Jr. of Newport, Orleans County, Vermont retrospectively-speaking, to bolster his position and claims.

NOTICE who were the primary submitters of "the information" that comprised this document material. None other than Howard Franklin Knight Jr himself, and John Scott Moody as well...and NO Historical Documentation was cited to substantiate the writer's statements, ONLY "word-of-mouth dubious questionable statements coming from John Moody and or Howard F. Knight, Jr., the parties involved." The following is definitively PUBLIC RECORD, and such written work is a matter of MA COURT HEARING RECORD, available to anyone. Of course, one would have to pay for the photocopying fees. This material will be posted in sections on this blog.

"....WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF A SUBSISTENCE ORIENTED CULTURE...."

(Scott E. Hastings Jr., 1982

Native Vermonts in the Miller Pond Watershed :

Heritage and Change

Katherine Botsford '81

Dartmouth College

PREFACE:

This paper is not intended for publication, and is intended largely to satisfy my own desire to understand how the people, land and community interact in the area in which I am making my home, and to apply some of the anthropoligcal/ ethnolographic perspectives and approaches I have learned as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College--to a real life setting.

Besides the obvious logistical advantage of studying my own back yard, I also feel that it is important to study ourselves with the same approach as we would any other culture--i.e. critically and without prejudice. If there are any principles of culture, they must be equally valid for us as for exotic or primitive peoples. Likewise, the skeptisim with which anthropologists view native cultures ought to be equally applied to dominating cultures, such as our own. Finally one cannot assume that the dominant, emic ethos of a culture reflects its totality. In this paper, I have focussed on what possibly represents a minority, or at least a particularized pocket of a larger culture; yet I argue that it has a legitimate throug distinct role and ethos.

In this vein, I set out to observe a particular part of local culture, while attempting to fit the perspectives of this part into the larger whole of regional political, social, and ecological patterns. In particular, I wished to learn how Vermonter's most native inhabitants, the aboriginal Abenaki, have woven themselves into the local fabric and become part of or helped to create the Vermont of legend and reality.

Part of my intention has been to sort out the historical reality from the popular images of what makes Vermont Vermont, particularly as these apply to specific individuals and communities. I have attempted to sort out and expose conflicting images, simutaneously showing how these reflect the particular orientation of specific interest groups. The ideal "Real Vermonter" thus differs according to the individual vantage point of the observer/observed. At the same time, a historical perspective reveals that certain patterns of cultural interaction and ecological conflict have persisted over generations, suggesting that current problems can be understood as new versions of old conflicts.

My intention with this paper was to include a broad rand of perspectives, from historical writings to personal interviews and public discussions on current issues. I began this project by attending a lecture series held at the Bugbee senior center in Hartford, Vermont, in the spring of 1988, and sponsored by the Environmental Law Center at the Vermont Law School, entitled Community in Vermont-The Land and the People: Seeking a Vision for Vermont's Future. These discussions inspired by Joseph Bruchac and John Moody's presentation, entitled Vermont's Original Communities: Abenaki Indians. It was this and subsequent meetings with John Moody, a personal friend and anthropologist who has been involved with the Abenaki community for many years, which prompted and encouraged me to include the Abenaki piece of the region's culture and history. Most importantly, he put up with emotional distress. Without his openness, knowledge, dedication, and friendship over the years, this paper would have been impossible.

Additionally, I am indebted to Howard Knight, the present representative of the Thetford Abenaki community, for his extended conversations with me regarding specific details about local...

families and lore. I also wish thank Professors Huke, Alverson, Daniel, and Korey, as well as Katherine Donahue for the for their encouragement, assistance, and bibliographic suggestions, as well as my advisor, Sally McBeth, for her patience and openness to my explorations and approach. Cade Bursell offered me direction when I floundered. Finally, I should mention Marion Fifield, the Thetford historian, who helped me with Thetford sources and history.

Throughout the process of my research, I have been as much guided by uncanny serendipity and a persistent feeling of connection or discovery as any analytical or methodical approach. My whole approach has been perhaps unorthodox, as I chose rather to interact with people as friends, neighbors, peers and fellow participants in the process of living together, rather than as subjects of objectifying study. As such, I did not attempt to conduct statistically controlled, pre-planned interviews, nor did I use tape recorders. In most cases I did not mention being a student, and did not discuss my interest in writing a paper. After speaking with people, often over an hour or more, I took notes in my car, recording our conversations as best as I could. Therefore the quotes which appear in this paper represent the best possible reconstructions of the lanugage, but might have some verbatim errors. I do believe they represent the spirit of the communication.

To learn the views and perspectives of local people, often I introduced myself as a neighbor, which I am. At other times, I had a prior relationships with people which allowed my entry into their homes and lives. Because of this, the responses I received were spontaneous and honest reflections of people in process. They do not reflect pre-conceived, self-reflective thought patterns, but rather spur of the moment feelings and opinions. Since the people I spoke with were my own friends neighbors, the quotations and opinions expressed to me were offered on those terms; i.e. not as part of any official survey or conscious study, but rather as conversations spontaneously arising from the moment. Therefore, I have left the quotes anonymous, except where the speaker specifically knew I was a student. In other instances, the quotes are taken from public meetings, such as the lecture series mentioned above, as well as three meetings held in Strafford to discuss future growth in the town and the possibility of land trusts becoming an active force in controlling growth. In these cases, I occasionally did not know the names of the particular individuals speaking.

INTRODUCTION:

If one looks carefully, one finds in popular culture two sorts of "Vermonter" traditions. The first I refer to as the "classic farmer", the other I call the 'backwoods native". The first 'type' represents the values of farm, village, and civility which were imported from southern New England with the first white settlements. This is the image epitomized by the Sabre Fields cover of the Report of the Governor's Commission on Vermont's Future: Guidelines for Growth (1988), and which today meets the desires of newcomers seeking a pastoral, idealized refuge from urban areas. I believe this aspect of Vermont is being favored institutionally and politically and is represented as a 'native' culture and environment in need of state protection.

Certainly, farming and villages have been important parts of Vermont's culture; however in the Ompompanooosuck watershed, and elsewhere in the state, one find other "native Vermonters", who

Have at least or even more of a claim to the land and who have shaped the culture of the North Country in their own unique way. For instance, aboriginally, the area with the confines of the East and West branches of the river, was home to an Abenaki community1, and, I will show, continues to be so today, despite two centuries or more of "flatlander" invasions, economic and ecological changes, and cultural interchange. This community has played such a significant role in shaping the values and quality of life in the area, yet throughout history this group repeatedly finds itself institutionally excluded by the dominant culture. This group, along with other minority groups, such as French Canadians, have tended to form the backbone of Vermont's working class, and have survived through a variety of rural occupations.

Overall, native Vermont's  despite their differences, nonetheless share a number of cultural and ecological relationships, which are a product of the land, their cultural heritage, and a relatively unindustrialized economy. Today, cultural survival has become an issue for both groups. As the local economy changes, one finds increasingly that wealthier and culturally different newcomers, referred to as flatlanders, flood the watershed area, bringing with them their own lifestyles, politics, and prejudices. This creates a new elite class, one seen by many natives as acting in detriment to Vermonters' traditional values.

The negative image of the flatlander and the flatlander's corresponding incomprehension of the native can be seen as responses to destructively civilizing urban oppressors within a native rural community, arising in the context of a historic struggle to preserve a homeland, sense of community/ peoplehood, and way of life. Whereas the flatlander and many white Vermonters might wish for social 'progress', and feel that the backwoods' lifestyle is backwards and/ or doomed, those of the second type appear to be holding on to their way of life, and feel that the newcomers, far from proposing beneficial changes, are simply depriving them of their land, and their livilihood.

THE AREA: GEOGRAPHY AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

The area I have chosen as a case study interested me for several reasons. To begin, this is the area I have been living in since 1984, in which I intend make my permanent home, and where I belong to a land Co-op2. Secondly, its feel is particularly rural, consisting of backroads, and large areas of wooded acreage, interspersed with farms, villages, and waterways.

The largest body of water nearby is of course the Connecticut River, which prior to railroads and highways served as a major communication between southern and northern New England for both Indians and settlers (Haviland, 1981: 11, 12, 82, 155) (Meeks, 1986: 8, 15, 23). It also bounds the east side of Vermont. Between Norwich and Thetford where Highway 132 begins, a smaller but once navigable river joins the long river, from the west. This is the Ompompanoosucc, which in Abenaki means kind of muddy and swampy and good for fishing, according to John Moody (August 1988). Somewhere near Union Village, one finds a fork in the river, becoming the West and East Branches. On the east, the river meanders up from Highway 132, un to Thetford Center, where it passes under a covered bridge below the village at Tucker Hill road. The river continues north, roughly along Rte.....

113, branching west along Beanvill road in the Vershire/ West Fairlee corner, as well as further north through Vershre village. On the west side, the river follows 132, with Lord Brook branching south along Picknell Road where I used to live, passing through the villages of South Strafford and Strafford. Old City Brook branches off just north of the main village, closing the circle with Beanville road, and thus defining the general limits of my study area3.

Off of the West Branch, at Campbell corner, Abbot brook can be followed north to Miller Pond, a good sized pond good for trout fishing. The road which follows the brooks is called Skunk Hollow. It crosses the town line between Thetford center and Strafford, and turns into Miller Pond road, which in turn joins with Beanville on the north, and Sawnee Bean to the east. Sawnee Bean joins this area with the East Branch of the Pompy, at Route 113 just outside of Thetford Center, and also follows Barker Brook. These roads are a very much off the commuter pathway, and in many places are minimally paved. Even more primitive class four roads or even jeep trails, once well-travelled but no fallen into disuses  branch off of these arteries, often leading to empty camps, abandoned farms, old cemeteries, cabins or small houses at the end of the passable road. Old maps reveal that these roads formerly were more important and passable (Beers, 1877) (Latham, 1961).4

Topographically, the roads are for the most part surrounded by steep or ledgy ridges which are mostly covered with pine forest, mixed with hardwoods. The nature of the terrain is such that one always has the experience of being either isolated in a valley or private bowl, with one's view blocked, or else one can climb up a slope and be treated to vast panaramic views of mountains and forest with remarkably limited signs of obvious human settlement  Houses are built all along the roas, with some farm or open space in the Strafford part of Sawnee Bean, along the West branch of the Pompy.

As one leaves the Connecticut river valley and moves into higher elevations, the growing season becomes shorter, the climate colder. Furthermore, the soil is noteworthy more for its abundance of ledge, granite, and mining capability than for its vegetative abilities. Strafford notably seems to have been tucked away from the main centers of activity, not being apart of either the railroad, the highway system, or even the larger White and Connecticut Rivers. A careful reading of Harold A. Meeks' Time and Change in Vermont: A Human Geography (1986) finds Strafford an exception to many generalizations about Orange County. Perhaps this reflects a lack of historical record--or perhaps Strafford simply persisted in isolation, in which case one might expect it to be even more rural and self-sufficient than many other Upper Valley towns.

In any case, there are two sizable  working dairy farms in this area, as well as a large Morgan horse farm. There are also numerous other smaller, beef, horse, sheep and (even one alpaca) raisers, particularly along Old City Falls. On Old City Falls Road is a thriving Apple Orchard as well. However, there are many other areas which have not been developed. Besides Miller Pond, there is the Podunk Wildlife preserve, both of which are overseen by the state. Additionally, there are number of large, relatively undisturbed by either housing, agriculture, or habitation. Along Skunk Hollow particularly, hunters link to congregate, presumably the proximity of the brook encourages deer.

THE PEOPLE--SETTLEMENT HISTORY

A. Classic Vermont

When Richard Wallace, of Nova Scotia, came to Newbury, (northern Vermont's first settlement by English-speaking peoples) in the 1770's, he observed two sorts of Vermonters. The first, to me epitomizes the Calvinist, enterprising, ambitious Yankees, descended from ancestors in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and retaining many of the same values of work, education, success and civilization. Their intent was to create a civilization out of what was perceived as savage wilderness. While rarely rich in the sense of nobility, they nonetheless "...were for the most part men of some little means and were able to furnish themselves with land, stock and tools. They were laborious, prudent, and economical...(E.N. Heaton, Thetford Town Report, 1920 p52)". These people were determined to exploit the land--felling the forest and putting the land into production, or market economy (Cronon, 1983: 118). Fundamental to these settlers from southern New England were the notions of improvement, treating land and natural resources as marketable commodities  and as means of accumulating wealth (ibid, 73-78). Likewise, in the system which they imported, grants were made to individuals, who "should only possess as much land as they were able to subdue and make productive...(ibid, 73)".

Industrial progress, economic prosperity, and civilizing the wilderness have been the primary goals and achievements of this class of people, from the first settlers from Connecticut, to the commercial dairy farmers beginning in the late nineteenth century (Wilson, 1936: 184-210), and to present day developers. Often these people have come and gone, as the soil depleted, prospects improved in the West, or urban centers have grew (Wilson, 1936: 116-155). Many of the settlers were well educated, doctors, preachers and lawyers amongst them, as well as inventors such as Sam Morey in Fairlee (Hemenway, 1871: 1071, 1091)(Child, 1888:152-159)(Blaisdell, 1980: 141). Thetford Academy (established 1819 (Child: 124), and Dartmouth College early on offered cultural opportunity to the upper classes. On Thetford Hill, some of the residents had 'colored' servants (Fifield, 1988), and the houses in the main villages which still stand are stately edifices indeed. In Strafford, the Justin Morrill home reminds one of one of its prominent inhabitants.

These solid white buildings and churches create a picturesque beauty featured artistically on post cards and tourist literature. They stand as symbols of what village life is thought to have been: quiet, uncluttered, snowy and serene. the existence of stump logs, mines, manufacturing, gravel pits, poverty or social conflict generally is omitted in favor of the steeple, or alternately the rolling, cow-studded hills of Vermont's dairy farms, such as pictured on Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Historically, paintings of Vermont have adorned the urban homes of Bostonian and New Yorker people for decades (McGrath, 1988).

Because of its limited agricultural and industrial opprotunities, the state's economy has long relied on Vermont's popularity with out of staters (Wilson, 1936: 277-300). Actively, the state of Vermont has promoted a large tourist industry, beginning with health springs in the 19th century, and presently as vacation homes, skiland, outdoor recreational sports, including hunting, fishing,

camping, biking and hiking. Today, in part due to this image making, Vermont is seen as a beautiful environmentally unspoiled, progressive and socially sane place to be. Vermont appeals to people looking for retirement, reclusion, and the 'natural' qualities prized by the baby boomer generation. Visitors and newcomers remark at Vermont's incredible beauty, how much they love Vermont, or how much better Vermont is than other states with environmental problems, such as New Hampshire. The promise of utopia, and quality of the land, then attracts many people to the state.

Today, these people are referred to by the "natives", as flatlanders. They stereo-typically are more urbane, have more buying power, better educations, and have more expensively spotless material possessions, from neatly renovated old farmhouses and manicured lawns and ponds, to spotless and new clothing, to new model cars and store-bought home interiors and matching furniture sets. Some of these people would be considered wealthy in any circumstances; others would fall into the middle class in another environment, but in contrast to the natives, they form a whole new elite upper class, socially. Generally, because they are new to the area, they have jobs requiring college educations, and they hope for a certain economic and social mobility for themselves and their children. Compared to average Vermonters, as a class they have more income and mobility in the world at large, traveling internationally at times, or maintaining cultural ties with urban areas. Too often, they have little understanding of or respect for the traditional patterns of local authority and behavior, and may righteously challenge these and even denigrate them. In general, they feel comfortable with the ins and outs of official institutions, and they expect these institutions, such as town government, to adhere to inclusive principles of democracy, as they understand them. Being from the northeast, many are political liberals, or even radicals.

Often they see themselves as promoting and preserving the integrity of Vermont--in the classic image. Many come from the same ancestral stock as the early white settlers, and from the same geographic locations: southern New England and New York. They come for similar reasons--to escape overcrowding and over-exploitation of resources  While they may love the land, and even come to work it, they lack the native's family ties and established patterns coming from childhood and generations of association with the land and the community.

B. Backwoods

By contrast with the above groups, there is another class of rural people settled in the Pompy area who are neither classic farmers nor committed to the "beautification/ development" of Vermont. These people want to continue to enjoy the subsistence use of environmental resources which they have relied on for generations, often living on the outskirts of villages, sometimes on small, marginal "hill farms", migrating from logging camp to logging camp, from one odd job to the next, or even from relative to relative. Cate, for instance, describes the tinkerer, a jack-of-all trades who was a welcome help to the farmer, but not a regularly employed hired hand. He lived "...an economically precarious existence...yet it left him time to locate the best trout pools, tramp the woods in search of game or herbs, or visit relatives and friends in the next town or county should the spirit move...(1982: 123)".

Likewise, Ira Stevens, in the Upper Valley Echoes describes how logging families used to live in movable twelve by twelve cabins, with no electricity or plumbing, and of course no radio, refrigerator, or telephone:

"...the amenities of a logging camp even after World War II were not all that different from life in a rural community with the cabin set up next to a good brook, a good pile or wood, and an outdoor toilet...A lot of houses in town weren't much better then. They didn't have electricity---it was 1938 before electricity came to this road...(Route 120 heading from Lebanon to Meriden)...and a lot of houses didn't have toilets...(Croft: 1989:1)"

In such close quarters, everyone knew everyone:"...Everyone was so close together, they knew all the news anyway...(ibid: 1)".

Although the backwoods people were not commercially prosperous farmers in the classical mode, some did own land. However, unlike some of the prospering dairy farmers in the fertile river valley, these hill farmers:

"...off almost a laboratory example of a traditional pre-industrial culture as it came to grips with the post-industrial revolution between 1870 and 1930. Their tenaciousness and rural ingenuity made selective use of a small number of artifacts...they retained their almost fierce sense of independence of the outside world in doing for themselves or doing without. Vermont farmers and villagers continued throughout the 1930's to live within the bounds of a subsistence oriented culture...(Hasting, 1982: 83).

They further differed from their southern New England counterparts, in that they lived with a "...loose settlement pattern of scattered farms instead of the tight village clusters of southern New England, (and retained, therefore)...a frontier cast of mind well into the twentieth century...(Hastings, 1982: 82)."

In the 1700's Wallace, mentioned earlier, also observed the early beginnings of this second class of people who, compared to the classic farmers,"...were in more indigent circumstances. They labored hard in the house and field and...(their) earthly fare was coarse and somewhat scanty. Their bowls, dishes, plates were all of wood...(Heaton, 1920: 52)" Daily rations were simple, as were housing and clothing. "...Many wore Indian stockings and mocassins of raw hide and some of the wealthier had Indian blankets cut into box coats and wore 'biff caps' ...their clothing in general was of linen...(ibid)".

Generally at that time, there were no stores, schools, churches, or roads, and people were largely dependent upon their resources for the necessities of life. Wildlife was abundant, including not only edible game such as fish, moose and deer, but also wolves, bears and panthers who could be heard or seen prowling at night (Hemenwat, 1871: 1093). Far from the idealized cozy little villages imagined by today's immigrants--times were rough, and lawless. There was in the beginning no clear government, and land claims were disputed. Orange county was reputed to be inhabited by "...lawless bandittli of felons and criminals...(Child, 1888: 35)". On the other hand, despite the lack of political enforcement,"...each one generally did what was right in his own eye, but few in number, poor and dependent on each other, they generally leived in good neighborhood, and were kind and obliging to each other...(Hemenway: 1093)". Outside large, established settlements, a man was