Johnson State student suing over sexual harassment WCAX Posted This Article on their Website on August 30, 2012:

Johnson State student suing over sexual harassment

Posted: Aug 30, 2012 3:50 PM EDT

Updated: Aug 30, 2012 4:57 PM EDT

By WCAX News - bio | email

JOHNSON, Vt. -

A Johnson State College student is preparing to sue the school for sexual harassment.

Nicole Daigneault filed a complaint against professor Fred Wiseman, an archaeologist and Abenaki expert. An internal investigation found that Wiseman did sexually harass Daigneault and engaged in unprofessional conduct.

Now, Daigneault claims Johnson officials had prior knowledge of Wiseman's actions, including harassment complaints from other students, and Daigneault claims the college failed to take adequate action against Wiseman.

Source:

http://www.wcax.com/story/19420611/johnson-state-student-suing-over-sexual-harassment 

Click here: Johnson State College. Vermont Non-Discrimination Pollicy:

http://www.jsc.edu/WhoWeAre/EmploymentOpportunities/Non-DiscriminationPolicy.aspx

"Also, inappropriate sexual relationships between staff and students, although they may not rise to the level of sexual harassment, are prohibited."

"The above is taken from VSC Policy 311, which is available online here. Any questions or complaints about potential or perceived discrimination, harassment or related unprofessional conduct in violation of any state or federal law or VSC Policy 311 should be directed to the Assistant Academic Dean at 802-635-1243."

Further Developments:

It has now been ascertained that WCAX.COM has redacted the URL Link by "WCAX Censor’s", as of the following day, their online WCAX Publication of this above article… 

Whose protecting who in VT? 

If this Johnson State College Professor (Ph.D) did in documented FACT retrospectively, distort the FACTS, then this news article "flash" on WCAX comes as NO SURPRISE at all.

Just give these "groups" of Wanabiak "Abenakis" of VT and or NH ... a chair and some rope, and then, given time and opportunity (when no one is looking) these groups will in part or in whole, do dynamics like these, and simply hang themselves, because of their conduct, retrospectively or contemporaneously speaking! Eventually (with any such luck and awareness by the PUBLIC) it will be shown and provided that such people are not honestly Abenakis at all.

See and REVIEW the following LINKS: 

http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2011/01/final-determination-against-federal.html

http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2010/10/st-francissokoki-band-of-vermont_14.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Reinvention-of-the-Alleged-Vermont-and-New-Hampshire-Abenaki/326985448988?ref=hl

http://reinventedvermontabenaki.blogspot.com/2012/03/shall-we-review-some-of-retrospective.html

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/A%20Dialogue%20with%20the%20Producer.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/Address%201%20Alburgh%204%20Indians%201863%20-%201864%20Identity.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/Address%202a%20Chief%20Nicholas%20Panadis%20RPPC%20Image.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/Address%202b%20Chief%20Nicholas%20Redacted%20LCMM%20-%20Wiseman%20PhD.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/Address%203%20Antoine%20Phillips%20Photographic%20Comparative.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/CdV%20Wiseman%20Rebuttal%205-15-2006%20and%209-15-2011%20BIA.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/Odanak's%20Abenaki%20Press%20Releases%20re%20Protesting%20Against%20VT%20Recogntion%20of%20Social%20Clubs%20of%20Wanabiak.pdf

BIRDS OF A FEATHER + FLOCK TOGETHER!

So, if this is the "mess" from the VT/NH "recognition" of these FRAUDULENT "Abenaki" Identity Thieves was based on questionable dubious foundation(s) of "implied fact(s)" created by no one else but Professor Professor "Ph.D" Frederick Matthew Wiseman and his kind " the concocted "VT Indigenous Alliance" (comprised of ONLY the four groups of implied "Abenakis" whom gained by fraud, VT State Recognition under a GENERIC "NATIVE AMERICAN" political terminology (and "supported" by such "Abenakis" "expert" "professionals" as Haviland, Calloway, Moody, Skinas, to name just a few... ), then obviously one would tend to SEE these type of WCAX news articles about these Professors etc.  that have allied themselves to this "Abenakis" "recognition" "process" and the subsequent "benefits" to themselves and the STATE(S) to be of the ilk as the fraudulent VT/NH "abenakis."

Who PROTECTS 'against legal prosecution' of these persons regarding embezzlement, identity theft, cultural appropriation, and or sexual harassment?

... such as April A. (St. Francis) Merrill and the like, when they committed obvious fraud, embezzlement, etc against others, for their own greed? WHERE is the Federal Charges? Why are there all the "continuances" judicially-speaking, after her being legally lawfully charged regarding the late (deceased) Louis Paul LaFrance (which was dismissed and NEVER brought back to the Court Docket by Prosecutor James Hughes in that matter, contrary to what he SAID in the newspapers at the time), and the latest regarding their so-called "Tribal Funds" ?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/April%20St.%20Francis-Merrill%20Docket%20No.%20261-3-11%20Frcr.pdf

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34082281/April%20St.%20Francis-Merrill%20Docket%20No.%20583-6-12%20Frcr.pdf

So, WHO IS "PROTECTING" the "Abenaki" Wanabiak of Vermont, their "Chief" and their "Professor"?

Senator Vincent Illuzzi ?

Senator Patrick Leahy ?

Senator Bernie Sanders ?

Governor Peter Shumlin ?

Senator Hinda Miller ?

The VCNAA (Vermont Commission on Native Amer. Affairs Commission) ?

Mark Mitchell ?

WHO keeps these dynamics within the "Abenaki" Wannabiak of Vermont and NH so "hush-hush" and "under the radar of the media" that these dynamics are not being reported to the PUBLIC of VT and NH; and why is there such "stalling" tactics towards April (St. Francis) Merrill etc judicially when it is so obvious what she has done and been doing all along?

I guess folks just don't want to look down, and see "Abenaki" SH** on their shoes eh? So they (the Vermont Media, in general, etc) remain "silent" and or remove online news articles from WCAX because the PUBLIC would become AWARE of just how fraudulent this retrospective VT State Gov. and Legislative "Recognition" of these "groups" claiming to be ... "Abenakis" ... really has been and is!

So much for "RECOGNITION" of the "Abenaki" Wannabiak. 

UPDATE: 

WCAX.com yanked the article off their website, sometime between yesterday and this morning, so the above URL is not working now regarding the article source. I just telephoned WCAX for an explanation as to why the sudden redaction of this article and they informed me that, "they are working on updating the article, this evening" quote from WCAX Newsroom. Stay Tuned....

JOHNSON, Vt. -

A sexual harassment complaint at Johnson State College could end up in court.

Student Nicole Daigneault filed a complaint against Professor Fred Wiseman last spring, after breaking off a personal relationship with him. An internal investigation found that Wiseman sexually harassed her and engaged in unprofessional conduct.

Now Daigneault is seeking depositions in support of a lawsuit against the college, claiming school officials failed to take adequate action against Wiseman.

In response, Johnson president Barbara Murphy said, "Where allegations are substantiated, we take prompt and appropriate action ..." But she says those actions," ... may not be readily apparent for a variety of reasons, including confidentiality of student and personnel matters.

From another online website:

Source: 

http://www.lyndonstatecritic.com/news/johnson-state-student-accuses-professor-of-sexual-harassment-1.2890419#.UEFgqcGPXk8

By Tyler Dumont

@tyler_dumont

Published: Friday, August 31, 2012

Updated: Friday, August 31, 2012 17:08

JOHNSON, VT. -- A student at Johnsbury State College has accused a professor of sexually harassing her.
Nicole Daigneault, 32, of Saint Johnsbury, told The Critic that she is accusing Professor Fred Wiseman, who allegedly threatened to lock her in his car and tried to kiss her.
Daigneault said that she had been taking a class with the professor when the alleged incidents occurred. She also said that the professor wrote journal entries about her, writing that he had envisioned “seeing her naked.”

David Sleigh, Daigneault's attorney and also a part-time instructor at Lyndon State College, said that his client expects to bring an action against Johnson State College, seeking damages for violations of Vermont’s Public Accommodation Act.
"The college has had six months to provide some remedy to Nicole, and there hasn't been one," he said.
Johnson State is one of the five Vermont State Colleges. 
Sleigh said that another female also filed complaint with the school regarding the same professor. He also confirmed that Daigneault was still a student at Johnson.
In a letter obtained by The Critic, Johnson State College president Barbara Murphy wrote to Daigneault that she “accepted” the complaint of sexual harassment.

The letter stated that, “Investigators determined there was a ‘very inappropriate crossing of faculty/student boundaries, at the very least.’”

The document also said that the professor had attempted to kiss Daigneault on two separate occasions, in addition to kissing her wrist while on school property - without Daigneault’s permission.

Another report stated that Johnson State College had concluded that there is “ample evidence of related unprofessional conduct.”

In a statement, JSC President Barbara Murphy said, “We take allegations of sexual harassment very seriously.”

“All the actions we may take in any particular case may not be readily apparent for a variety of reasons,” she continued, “including confidentiality of student and personnel matters.”

Despite Murphy's statements on Wiseman, he is reportedly still an employee. His contact information on the Johnson website lists him as chair and professor in the Humanities Department. Multiple attempts to reach Wiseman were unsuccessful.

MY RESPONSE:

The College, when a student registers as a STUDENT, are told their rights and responsibilities, as being a student, yet in parts of that CONTRACT with that College, also the College has certain rights and responsibilities to PROVIDE a SAFE ENVIRONMENT for the Student(s).

Does this sound like "Blame The Victim" or "Blame The Professor"?

Victims of sexual harassment are not at fault for the actions of harassment by their perpetrator(s).  Period. That goes for sexual abuse, physical abuse, or psychological/and or emotional abuse(s) against a victim. The perpetrator(s) are 100% percent responsible for their own inappropriate (and sometimes to the level of criminal) conduct. 

To suggest or IMPLY otherwise, is clearly a methodology of 'scape-goating' and blaming the victim(s). The conduct of Mr. Frederick Matthew Wiseman, Ph.D was clearly in violation(s) of the Johnson State College Policy (see above), and this Professor ought to be immediately terminated from ANY position at that College. Period. UNLESS, of course the College seems to assume that he 'brings in $$MONEY$$ and students, so that the College allowed other student's to be victimized, for the status of having this "Professor" claim fraudulently that he is some sort of "expert" on "Abenaki" culture, historical record, genealogy, etc, all the while sexually and inappropriately victimizing his students? Which, to my thinking and conclusion(s) based on several different dynamics and conduct by this particular "Professor", that he is obviously, NOT an "expert" on the Abenakis at all. Of course, I never attended one of his classes, seminars, speeches, or so-called Scholarly Diatribes (no pun intended), and for good reason(s). [Clearly shown and Provided in the above LINKS]. But again, let's not BLAME Nicole Daignault for the inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment by Johnson State "Abenaki" "Professor" Frederick M. Wiseman, Ph.D either, because obviously, HE should have known better, than to have 'a personal relationship' with ANY student(s) of his. Period. 

There are reason(s) WHY Johnson State College or any other Educational Institution or Facility has this policy "inappropriate sexual relationships between staff and students, although they may not rise to the level of sexual harassment, are prohibited." within their rules and regulations for faculty, as teaching representatives of the particular Institution or Faculty that they are employed by. 

Teachers are seen as having authority, standing, integrity, and respect and when the TEACHER crosses those appropriate boundaries, then it becomes abusive and creates (or is allowed it to exist) an inappropriate learning environment ... and often times criminal conduct by the Teacher, towards the student(s) happens. 

Johnson State College President Barbara Murphy may ASSUME that those actions taken by the College towards Mr. Fred M. Wiseman "to not readily be apparent for a variety of reasons, including confidentiality of student and personnel matters," yet that is EXACTLY what was said by the faculty of Penn State regarding Jerald "Jerry" Sandusky, and look where that went = MORE victims being created by the predator on the College Faculty Membership. 

So whom are the Professor's "other students" that are alleged to have been 'sexually harassed' by Frederick M. Wiseman? 

They all can't be student's having "personal relationships" retrospectively with this Professor, can they? 

The alleged victims of such sexual harassment can not all be BLAMED for the inappropriate conduct of ONE

 man? 

To imply that this WAS or IS the reality, is beyond absurdity. The victims of sexual harassment are not to blame because of what happened to them, by their perpetrator(s)/predator(

s)!

IS Johnson State College President Barbara Murphy keeping this Professor (Frederick M. Wiseman) on the Faculty Staff still? And if so, WHY? 

"Status"? $$MONEY$$? 

Nicole Daigneault ought to be applauded for her strength, honesty, bravery and transparency in this matter, because to my thinking, the College, did not want to address these 'sexual harassment dynamics', going on by "Professor" Fred M. Wiseman, and the College simply NOW is claiming to have taken appropriate action(s) towards this "Professor" What action(s)? Does this make any Johnson State College Student feel 'comfortable' ... or that they are praying they are not the next prey, taking his classes, as his Student(s)? Is the Johnson State College President Barbara Murphy actually taking appropriate action(s) against this "Professor" (Frederick Matthew Wiseman) so that ALL students are aware that Johnson State College IS a safe and healthy environment to learn in? Or is the College Faculty and President simply TRYING to brush all of this "under the rug" and just praying it goes away? Like what happened at Penn State College for years ... until someone finally came forward with a loud enough voice. 

Myself, I applaud Nicole Daignault for her courage and her bravery in coming forward. She was the Student - Professor Wiseman was/is just that, A PROFESSOR who did in fact sexually harass and conduct himself inappropriately, with his student. 

Clearly this is in violation of Johnson State College Policy, and a slap on the wrist and a shake of the finger by that College President Barbara Murphy, is the least she ought to do to this "Professor." 

To my thinking, he ought to be terminated immediately upon the finding of guilt, as to his inappropriate conduct! 

LINK:

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html 

LINK: 

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.html

Johnson State College FULL TIME Faculty:

Frederick Wiseman

Professor, Chair

Library and Learning Center,Room 306 

802-635-1352, Frederick.Wiseman@jsc.edu

Ph.D. Geosciences, University of Arizona

Specializations: Abenaki culture and history

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 257- 262:

 Page 257


Draft Statement of Significance of the Boucher Cemetery Site
for inclusion in the National Register if Historic Places

Prepared by
Peter Thomas, Archaeologist
US Department of Homeland Security

NPS Form 10-000-n

(8-86)

Approval No.1024-0016

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number_8 Statement of Significance_Page 1 or 4  Boucher Cemetery Site, Franklin County, VT

Boucher Cemetery Site, Franklin County, VT

Introduction

The Boucher Cemetery Site is regionally significant for the exceptional insights it provides into aspects of Native America cultural live in the distant past, particularly those related to burial practices and pan-regional social and economic exchange networks. This site is the most professionally studied Early Woodland Period burial ground in Vermont and, with but few exceptions, in all of New England and eastern Canada. In an archaeological context, it is a key site with respect to understanding the Middlesex Mortuary Complex in northeastern North America - a complex closely related to the Adena, Delmarva and Meadowood Provinces. A suite of AMS radiocarbon dates (uncorrected) ranging from 858 B.C. to A.D. 100 indicates that the Boucher site was used intermittently throughout the entire Early Woodland Period, or for nearly 1,000 years. Mortuary goods found within the site are typically exotic and the use of long-distance exchange to acquire such items must have involved extensive networks of social interaction, which, in addition to the movement of goods, likely resulted in the flow of ideas on a regional level. The preservation of textiles, cordage, and leather items provides an extremely rare opportunity to study the techniques used to create every-day items and the craftsmanship of their makers.

The Boucher Cemetery Site is also important because it is emblematic of two competing paradigms in our modern world. One is typically employed by academicians who derive explanations of the past through historic and scientific methodologies; the other finds oneness with the past through commonly held knowledge and beliefs shared by ALLEGED Native American community members. There is a profound spiritual link felt by members of this community with those ancient Native Americans buried nearby. Initial disturbance of the Boucher Cemetery site in 1973 and the long interval of study before reburial of both the human remains and associated artifacts in 1990 greatly affected the spiritual and physical well-being of ALLEGED Abenaki residents and severely strained relations between professional archaeologists and members of the ALLEGED Abenaki community. After more than three decades, both groups have reached a substantial level of ...

 Page 258

... accommodation and understanding. Today, both professional archaeologists and ALLEGED Abenakis are working together to protect and preserve the Boucher Cemetery site and other known, or as yet undiscovered, burial sites located nearby. Boucher is only one of an undetermined number of mortuary sites that extend intermittently to the east and in a broken chain along the same landform downstream for another 3/4 mile. Boucher encompasses only a very limited part of a larger sacred landscape within which deceased Native Americans have been buried for at least the part 3,000 years.

Narrative

The Boucher Cemetery Site (VT-Fr-26) is one of four apparently coeval, Early Woodland period, mortuary sites known from the lowlands of Vermont, east of Lake Champlain. The other sites are referred to as the Swanton or Hempyard (VT-Fr-1), East Creek (VT-Ad-26) and Bennett (VT-Ad-298) sites. The first and last are known from old collections of artifacts recovered in disturbed contexts. While human remains and an extensive collection of associated burial goods were "professionally" recovered from the East Creek site in the late 1930's, no excavation notes have survived, if they were ever taken. Of the four, the Boucher Cemetery site is by far the most thoroughly recorded and studied.

The Boucher site was accidentally discovered and partially destroyed during the excavation of a house foundation in April, 1973. Archaeological salvage operations were undertaken by the University of Vermont under the direction of Louise Basa. After the plowzone was removed to expose the upper portions of intact features, a volunteer field crew excavated an area of 340 m" between April and September. Many of the intact burials were removed en masse for subsequent excavation at UVM, the last of which was carried out in 1988. At least 84 confirmed burial pits were encountered and over 100 individuals may have been buried at the site.

Based on what he perceived to be Adena-related mortuary sites in New York State and elsewhere, Ritchie (1937-1951) defined a "Middlesex focus". He concluded that this complex, later referred to as the "Middlesex phase," either reflected the infusion of elements of Adena culture, which was centered in the upper Ohio River valley, or involved an actual migration of Adena people into the northeast (Ritchie and Dragoo 1960). Early Woodland cemeteries from throughout the far Northeast have been commonly referred to as Middesex sites since that time. The distribution of Middlesex related mortuary sites is, for the most part, restricted to the far Northeast, essentially from east-central and eastern New York, New England, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada.

Early radiocarbon dates from the Boucher site, in addition to early dates from Augustine Mound (New Brunswick) and Rosenkrans (New Jersey), now strongly suggest that the Middlesex burial complex was well established before Adena-related artifacts entered existing trade networks in considerable quantities after about 500 B.C. This does not mean that Adena-related stone artifacts and Midwestern raw materials were not important elements of late Early Woodland trade; both are well represented at Boucher and other Middlesex sites. Rather, an extensive regional trade in copper, shell and some stone artifacts, typical of those found in Middlesex burials, dates back to the late Archaic period. This has led Heckenberger, Petersen and Basa (1990) to conclude that the impetus for the Middlesex mortuary complex can be sought more locally than the Ohio valley or Great Lakes region, probably in the well-established Late Archaic ceremonial complexes of the far Northeast. This inference is further substantiated by a sourcing study of nine copper beads from the Boucher site using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Of the nine samples, seven ave a high probability of being derived from sources of copper in Nova Scotia, particularly Cumberland County or Cap D'Or. Two were evidently made from copper originating in Isle Royale located near the northwest shore of Lake Superior (Levine 2006). Radiocarbon dates from the Boucher and elsewhere also indicate that Middlesex cemeteries were still in use into the first millennium A.D., after the apparent collapse of Adena to the west.

 Page 259

Given the wide region within which Native American peoples interacted at this time, it is not surprising that, in addition to ties with the Adena "culture" of the Midwest, the Middlesex complex has strong affinities to several other mortuary complexes known from northeastern North America. The Delmarva Adena complex located in the Delmarva Peninsula and Chesapeake Bay area of the Middle Atlantic region is characterized by traits remarkably similar to those of the Middlesex complex. In fact, assemblages from the two complexes are almost indistinguishable. A similar relationship exists with the mortuary components of the Meadowood phase generally found in central and western New York and southern Ontario. Another similar complex, but with the addition of burial mounds as a significantly visible element, is found scattered from New Brunswick (Augustine Mound) and Nova Scotia (Skora Mound) westward to the Long Sault Mounds on the St. Lawrence River near the outlet of Lake Ontario. In short, although some regional clusters may yet be differentiated that identify more closely related peoples, the extensive trade characteristic of the Early Woodland period throughout the broad Northeast, as well as what was likely some degree of shared ideology, tends to mask the variability in mortuary practices used by interconnected peoples. The Boucher site has played a pivotal role in challenging earlier ideas about the source and time depth of elaborate burial practices in Vermont and elsewhere.

Practices of interment at the Boucher Cemetery Site were noticeably varied. Some individuals were cremated prior to burial. The remains of others were evidently stored in some manner, thus allowing the flesh to decompose before burial in bundles of dis-articulated bones. Others were interred directly in the ground shortly after the time of death. A minimum total of 43 inhumations, of which two were bundle burials, and 17 cremations were encountered. Of the 17 cremations, three contained the remains of two individuals each. All remains were placed in graves that ranged in depth from 3 to 6 feet. Such a variety of practices is repeated at other cemeteries of the time throughout the region.

Based on a detailed analysis of the characteristics of the graves and the quantity and/or types of goods included, no discernible pattern was found that suggested that the mode of burial was dependent upon age, gender or status of the individual. This has led to speculation that such sites as Boucher were sacred locations of extended families or other kin groups that were used over hundreds of years, and that the presence of cremations and secondary bundle burials stems from the fact that some members of this kin group died at considerable distances from their formal burial site. Thus, their remains were treated in a different method until a more ritualized interment could occur (Hackenberger, etc al 1990); Heckenberger, Peterson and Basa (1990).

A variety of mortuary artifacts, including numerous shell and copper beads, blocked-end tubular pipes for smoking tobacco, projectile points, bifaces, gorgets, celts, a boatstone, and Vinette 1 ceramic vessels, were among the accompanying artifacts. These goods attest to the highly ritualized treatment of the deceased, both here and at less documented cemeteries of the time throughout the larger region, as such goods were undoubtedly acquired at considerable cost to the living.

The quantity and variety of such artifacts also attest to the wide-ranging exchange networks that operated during the Early Woodland period. For example, a total of 119 flaked stone tools were recovered at the Boucher site. A number are made from local Hathaway formation chert or Champlain Valley quartzite, but roughly 52% consist of exotic items manufactured from raw materials drawn from distant sources, including New York State cherts, such as Normanskill, Eastern and Western Onondaga cherts, as well as Flint Ridge and Wyandot chert from Harrison County, Indiana. Fine-grained Mistassini quartzite and argillite, probably derive from northern and southern Quebec, as well as Kineo rhyolite, sourced from northern Maine, are also present.

Other types of artifacts were imported from equally distant sources. Of 19 blocked-end tubular smoking pipes, at least 15 are made of "Ohio fireclay"; the remainder are made from unidentified materials. One "boatstone" or gorget was manufactured from a banded slate derived from the upper Great Lakes region. By far the largest number of artifacts recovered consists of 6,732 copper artifacts, predominately beads, and substantial quantities of shell beads. As noted ...

 Page 260

previously, sourcing studies of nine copper beads concluded that there is a high probability that seven of the beads are derived from copper sources in Nova Scotia, particularly Cumberlad County or Cap D' Or, and that two are made from copper originating on Isle Royale located near the northwest shore of Lake Superior (Levine 2006). The shell beads derive from four species of marine shell: the Common Rice Olive (Olivella floralia), the Common Atlantic Marginella (Marginella apicina), the knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica), and the Northern Quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria). The whelk and quahog could have been obtained frm peoples living along the coast of southern New England. The Olivella and Marginella shells were traded from at least as far south as Virginia and the Carolinas. In short, Boucher site provides clear evidence that the world of the Native Americans living in the Champlain Lowlands during the Early Woodland period extended far their visible horizons. The trade/exchange networks that were operating at this at this time not only brought exotic items to them to them for inclusion as burial items, but had tentacles extending into much of North America east of the Mississippi River.

Copper salts from the beads acted as a fungicides and led to the preservation of textiles, cordage and leather items that are extremely rare in the archaeological record and attest to the exceptional craftsmanship of community members. Fiber cordage, derived from milkweed and basswood, is identified in single-, two-, three- and four-ply fragments. Fragments of 23 individual woven objects were identify and exhibit at least four different types of twining. While most textiles were constructed of cordage made from plant fibers, at least two incorporated animals hair as the active weft element. Textiles were used to create clothing, shrouds, smaller bags, one of which was decorated with a geometric motif. At least two hide garments and three hide bags were included with the deceased. The extant assemblage from the Boucher Cemetery site constitutes one of the largest collections of perishable artifacts of this antiquity known from anywhere in eastern North America. The people living here clearly possessed a sophisticated perishable fiber industry. The regularity and delicacy of many of the structural elements and patterns evident in the textiles provide testimony to the high level of proficiency of the weavers (Heckenberger, Petersen and Basa 1990).

In sum, the archaeological recovery of human and mortuary remains from the Boucher Cemetery site in 1973, their analysis in the years following, and the subsequent publication of the results have provided Euro-Americans in Vermont and elsewhere with an unprecedented view into the lives of Native Americans living in northeastern North American some 2-3,000 years ago. There can be little doubt that this site greatly expands our knowledge of the past and challenges us all to give serious consideration to how complex and dynamic the cultures of Native American peoples were at a time for which we have no written records.

The history of the discovery, recovery, analysis and eventual reburial of the Boucher Cemetery remains clearly reflects the existence of two competing paradigms in our modern world. One is typically employed by academicians who derive explanations of the past through historic and scientific methodologies; the other finds oneness with the past through commonly held knowledge and beliefs shared by ALLEGED Native American community members. Profound disjuncts can occur. For example, just because the archaeological data can show no direct cultural links between the individuals buried at the Boucher Cemetery and the Native American community of Abenakis living in the Highgate-Swanton area today, due in large part to deficiencies in both methodology and the lack of primary data, it does not negative the fact that there is a profound spiritual link felt by members of this ALLEGED community with those ancient Native Americans buried nearby. Initial disturbance of the Boucher Cemetery site in 1973 and the train of subsequent differing opinions over the treatment and potential re-internment of both the skeletal remains and associated burials goods strained relations between professional archaeologists in Vermont and the ALLEGED Abenaki community for nearly three decades. It has taken considerable effort by both parties to reach a substantial level of accommodation and understanding (Blum, Petersen and Wiseman 2006). This pattern of conflict and the gradual accommodation of divergent belief systems with respect to "a burial site of archaeological import" and what is essentially a "sacred or traditional cultural property" reflects a broad trend in the history of modern archaeology that has and is still occurring across the entire Nation.

 Page 261

At present, both professional archaeologists and ALLEGED "Abenakis" are working together to protect and preserve both the Boucher Cemetery site and other known, or as yet undiscovered, burial sites located nearby. Boucher is but one of an unknown number of mortuary sites that extend intermittently to the east and in a broken chain along the same landform downstream for another 3/4 mile. At least 31 burials and associated mortuary goods have been recovered from only two small areas along this stretch of the Missisquoi River. Remaining areas are simply unexplored. Unexplored burial beyond the boundaries of the Boucher Cemetery site date from the Early Woodland early Middle Woodland, Late Woodland and early Historic Periods. It is perhaps revealing that an early 18th -cetury Jesuit mission was also established on this hallowed ground and the one of the recovered burials found nearby was accompanied by a crucifix. Boucher is but a part of a larger sacred landscape within which deceased Native Americans have been buried for at least the past 3,000 years and whose protection will help to insure the spiritual and physical well-being of the present-day ALLEGED Abenaki community.

Missisquoi Jar Casting Proposal


David Skinas, USDA/NRCS
Chief April St. St. Francis-Merrill, Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi
November 2, 2010 

In July of 2009 in intact ceramic vessel, the Missisquoi Jar, dating to circa AD 300 was recovered from from the Boucher Cemetery site during an archaeological investigation that was conducted to with the Town of Swanton's Native American Site's District zoning law along [REDACTED]. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in partnership with the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi St. Francis.Sokoki band and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation lead this effort that recovered this extraordinary artifact. It is extremely rare to recover large ceramic sherds from precontact Native American sites in the Northeast which makes this find of an intact vessel all the more significant. The jar is considered sacred by the Missisquoi community because it is associated with the Boucher Cemetery site where over 80 human graves were unearthed in 1973 and later reinterred to the site in 1996. The Missisquoi Jar was lying on its side with two stones that positioned the pot to a specific orientation. The vessel either contains a cremation burial or was intentionally placed on top of a body that was buried but the bones have long since dissolved in the acidic soil of the site. There was no archaeological evidence gathered during the investigation to suggest that this artifact was associated with an encampment or habitation. Ceramic vessels typically found in habitation sites were placed upright so that the contents could be easily accessed by the inhabitants. That was not the case with the Missisquoi Jar.

The Missisquoi Jar is being stored temporarily at tribal headquarters in Swanton and must be reinterred on the site across the road from where it was unearthed before the ground freezes. Once this sacred item has been reburied we will no longer have the opportunity to examine or admire it again. Because the vessel is sacred it cannot be displayed or even have photographs of it distributed or published. We believe that because this jar is associated with a burial in one of Vermont's most important cemetery sites that funds from the Vermont Special Sites Fund should be used to make a cast of the pot. The casting would be undertaken in two phases. The first ...

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... step is to take a mold of the pot at tribal headquarters before it is reburied. The cost of that effort is estimated at $2,994 (see below). The second step is to actually recreate the vessel at the lab over the course of the winter. This phase of casting cannot be accurately estimated until the mold has been completed, but it should also cost about $3,000 to make a single cast. The big advantage is that once the mold has been taken more than one copy of the jar can be made in the future, and those copies could be used for displays at the Missisquoi Museum in Swanton, the Chimney Point Historic Site Museum and/or the Vermont Historical Society. To not take advantage of this opportunity before the vessel is reinterred would be a mistake that cannot be undone.

(This grant was approved by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and funded by the Special Sites Burial Fund. A mold of the vessel was successfully completed in December 2010)

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 249 - 256:

 Page 249

[REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol

[REDACTED] Project,

Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont

David Skinas

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

July 9, 2008

The Town of Swanton's [REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol (Zoning Bylaws Section 3.17 Native American Sites District) requires that an archaeological investigation shall be conducted on house development projects where ground disturbance will reach or exceed 18 inches below surface to ensure that any unmarked human graves are not inadvertently disturbed during house construction. The [REDACTED] Native American Sites District, located in the Towns of Swanton and Highgate, contains an extraordinary collection of ancient Abenaki burial grounds and habitation sites, some of which have been exposed and disturbed over the last 35 years largely resulting from residential development. The most notable of these cemeteries are [REDACTED] the [REDACTED] where thousands of human skeletal remains representing hundreds of Abenaki ancestors have been documented dating back at least 2500 years ago and as recent as the 19th century. Mnay more burial grounds are expected to exist within this portion of the Missisquoi Abenaki traditional homeland and the zoning law was enacted to help protect these extremely sacred areas. When necessary archaeological studies are conducted the Vermont Burial Fund is used to help pay for these investigations to alleviate the town and landowners from any financial burden.

[REDACTED] owns a resident within the [REDACTED] Native American Site District (Fugure 1) in the Town of Swanton and filed an Application for Building Permit #49-2008 to construct a 28 foot by 20 foot addition to his existing house (Photo 1). The property is located at [REDACTED] out 800 feet south [REDACTED] and approximately 150 feet north of the Missisquoi River (Figure 2). Construction of the house addition foundation would require excavation to a depth of six and a half feet which triggered the need for an archaeological monitoring investigation.

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Figure 1. Project location shown on the East Alburg and Highgate Center USGS quad maps.

On June 26, 2008 I [David Skinas] monitored the excavation of the house addition foundation (Photo 2). A straight-edge bucket was used on the excavator that removed soil below the plowzone in a 4-6 inch increments (Photo 3). An approximately four foot deep water line trench that extended from the well to the house was exposed, and a narrow twelve inch deep cable trench was also observed during the excavation.

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Figure 2. Location of the house addition.

There was no evidence of any unmarked human burials, grave shaftes, inhumations, cremations or red ochre features observed during the controlled monitoring of the house addition. No precontact Native American artifacts were identified, but a possible cultural feature similar to a fire pit was exposed in the top three inches (7cm) of the B horizon that was located at about 8 feet west of the existing foundation wall and approximately 10 feet north of the south wall (Photo 4). The approximately 16 inch (40 cm) diameter feature was quickly cross-sectioned and in profile the stain ranged in depth from 2-8 inches (5-20 cm) below surface with the deeper end located along the northern edge of the feature. No stone tools, waste flakes, other artifacts, calcined bone or unburned bone were contained within or near the feature to confirm that this soil stain was the result of a precontact or contact period Native American activity. In the northwest corner of the addition a decayed tree stump stain was exposed. No other soil anomalies were observed during the investigation. It does not appear that construction of the [REDACTED] house addition will disturb or destroy any unmarked Abenaki burials.

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Photo 1. Location of the house addition marked in orange paint, facing south.

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Photo 2. Shows the extent of the house addition foundation, facing north.

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Photo 3. Shows the straight-edged bucket removing a 46 inch of the upper B horizon.

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Photo 4. Shows the top of the dark, charcoal infused soil stain identified in the upper B horizon.

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2008 Reinternment of Abenaki Human Remains found at the Medical Examiner's Office

On December 20, 2007 the State Archaeologist contacted Chief April St. Francis-Merrill of the Missisquoi Abenaki asking her to take charge of and properly re-inter the remains of several Native American burials contained within three boxes that had just been discovered in the State Medical Examiner's Office. This transfer of remains to the Missisquoi tribe was conducted with the knowledge and approval of the State Archaeologist and the Vermont Division for Historic preservation. All necessary burial transit and reinterment permits were obtained from the City of Burlington, Town of Alburg and Town of Highgate. These boxes had little locational information describing where these human remains came from but some notations on the box labels indicated that they originated from Alburg, Colchester and the Monument Road area of Highgate. Prior to the removal of the burials from the Medical Examiner's Office staff from the UVM Consulting Archaeological Program inventoried the remains. The results of that inventory are presented below:

Medical Examiner's Unidentified Skeletal Remains Inventory

Visited Jan 11 2008

Alexandra Martin

Rob Ingraham

UVM Consulting Archaeological Program

This designation of skeletal elements will serve as a basic inventory of the human remains and non human artifacts that were most recently stored at the Burlington VT Medical Examiner's Office. Two bankers' boxes contained a miscellany of bones with little to no provenience information and unknown relation to one another. To get a sense of what was present, we laid out the skeletal elements from each box and analyzed the contents of each bag or singular element within. Each element was photographed and recorded on an Isolated Bone Recording Form. We could not assume that elements within each bag were necessarily associated with one another or with singular elements also in the box; therefore, our minimum numb of individuals may seem broad. In some cases, we assigned a bag number to skeletal elements previously stored with one another for ease of reference. In all cases, we attempted to discern as much information about the remains as possible before their imminent return to the Abenaki Tribal Council.In box 3, we dealt with a total of 15 separate bags and 2 isolated elements. We estimate an MNI of 58, though the number of individuals represented in this box more likely approximates 17 or so. This box also contained a number of non human remains, including skeletal elements primarily of Odocoileus virginianus (deer), but also Lutra Canadensis (otter), Bos taurus (cow), Ursus (bear) and other unidentified small mammals. Among the deer bones were multiple modified bone tools.On these deer bone tools were catalog numbers Jess Robinson recognized as being from UVM's Fleming Museum. Robinson located an American Anthropologist article entitled "Aboriginal Remains in the Champlain Valley" by G. H. Perkins (1909). This article refers to ...

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... these bone tools and features a few of them in plate XXXIV (617). Perkins reports that the artifacts were recovered by D. B. Griffin from the "bank of a large creek that flows into Mallets bay" (615).Griffin and Mallet's Bay are also present on another skeletal element in Box 3, a fragmented human skull enclosed in a bag labeled "Bones from Clay in Mallets Creek Indian Encampment D.B. Griffin 1910." Few of the other human remains in this box are identified by excavator or original site, but several bags are contained in bags labeled "from graves on Missisquoi River, Highgate VT." Please refer to the table of Elements for a complete list of the inventory in this box.In Box 11, there were 9 previously established identification numbers and 5 elements with no bag or tag of any kind. We determine an MNI of 19. Among the separately bagged elements in this box, the only group spanning several bags with the same catalog number (20) was determined to be almost positively from the same individual. Although there were few elements to pair, this individual had a level of osteoarthritic osteophyte growth that related the elements to one another.There were no catalog numbers on the bones in this box; only one element was identified with writing on the bone itself. A complete skull that seems to have been treated for display has writing on the frontal bone reading "2161 Swan Creek retain" "1523cc." No further information on a Swan Creek burial has been located as of yet. Please refer to the table of Elements Present for a complete list of the inventory in this box provided below.

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The 2009 Trombley Recovery Project, Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vt.

In July of 2009 a 1700 year old intact ceramic vessel was recovered during an archaeological investigation triggered by the Town of Swanton's Monument Road Unmarked Burial zoning. This zoning law is designed to identify and protect unmarked burials from destruction during house development along Monument Road where many Abenaki burial grounds have been disturbed over the last 30+ years. Staff from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Scott Dillon of the Vt. Division for Historic Preservation worked in collaboration with Chief April St. Francis-Merrill, of the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi, the Town of Swanton and the landowners to conduct this investigation. This project is located at the edge of the significant 2,000+ year old Boucher Cemetery site VT-FR-26. Shovel test pits were excavated at 5 meter intervals within the project area. The ceramic pot was encountered at 34 cm below surface and was laying on its side facing westerly wedged in that position with one and perhaps two stones. The absence of habitation remains one the site suggests that this isolated vessel was placed on an Abenaki burial and either the bones have completely dissolved in the acidic soils or the vessel contains a cremation burial. The pot was successfully extracted from the ground in one piece and brought to tribal headquarters in Swanton for safe keeping and analysis. John Crock and Jess Robinson of the UVM Consulting Archaeology Program assisted Scott Dillon and me to document the vessel. The pot's pseudo scallop shell decorative style dated the Missisquoi Jar to Peterson's Ceramic Period 2 at approximately AD 300. As the jar slowly dried several cracks formed on the exterior making the vessel extremely fragile. Under the direction of Steve Shapiro, the State Medical Examiner, we conducted a CT scan of the vessel to determine the stability of the pot, produce a three dimensional image of the vessel and more importantly to analyze the contents to determine if any burned bone or other evidence of human remains were contained in the jar. The results of the CT scan are phenomenal and more analysis is planned. This imaging technology allows us to examine the jar without having to remove the contents that would destabilize the vessel.Unfortunately, the housing project was allowed to proceed with an approved zoning permit because only one burial was encountered. The Swanton Unmarked Burial zoning that is limited to Monument Road requires that more than three graves must be found within a 1,000 square foot square area before a project can be stopped. I did monitor the excavation of the house foundation, utility lines and septic area but no other graves or artifacts were observed. Because of the Missisquoi Jar may be assocatied with a burial it is against the Abenaki  belief system to display such sacred objects. We hope to provide the VAS membership with the images of the CT scan in the near future.

David Skinas USDA NRCS    Chief April St. Francis-Merrill

                                                               St. Francis/Sokoki Band

                                                               Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 245 - 248

 Page 245

[REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol: Parent Project,
Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont
David Skinas
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
July 2007

The town of Swanton's [REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol (Zoning Bylaws Section 3.17 Native American Sites District) requires that an archaeological investigation be conducted on house development projects where ground disturbance will reach or exceed 18 inches below surface to ensure that any unmarked human graves are not inadvertently disturbed during house construction. 

[REDACTED] of Swanton own a one-acre parcel on [REDACTED] (Figure 1) in the Town of Swanton and have filed an Application for a Building Permit to construct a single-family, one-story, three-bedroom residence, having dimensions of 72 feet in length and 47 feet in width. The property is located on the Southerly side of [REDACTED] in the Native American Sites District (Figure 2). Construction of a foundation and associated power, water, septic tanks and sewer lines would involve excavation to a depth of more than 18 inches.

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Figure 1. Project location shown on the East Alburg and Highgate Center USGS quad maps. 

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Figure 2. Location of house, power, water, septic tanks and sewer lines excavation.

On May 30, 2007 I monitored the excavation of the house foundation. A straight-edged bucket was used on the excavator that removed soil below the plowzone in 4-6 inch increments. A buried barn foundation with concrete walls was exposed along the eastern end of the excavated foundation (Photo 1). The landowner remembered going to an auction at this barn in the 1970's. This farm and barn does not appear on the  1871 F. W. Beers Atlas of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties but does show up on the 1916 St. Albans, VT USGS quadrangle map. Sometime between the 1970's and present time this barn had been razed. On June 5, 2007 I returned to monitor excavation of the power, water and sewer lines once their locations had been determined. The septic would be placed in an area previously disturbed by the razed barn and installation of an 8 foot wide by 3-4 foot deep stone lined waterway (Figure 3 and Photo 2). The concrete floor of he barn's milk house was exposed midway along the sewer line that had to be avoided.

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Photo 1. View of the barn foundation along the east third of excavated area, facing east.

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Photo 2. Shows the stone-lined ditch to the left of Chief April St. Francis [Merrill] and two contractors, Zoning Administrator Ron Kilburn is to the right. Photo taken during the preconstruction meeting, facing south.

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Figure 3. Shows the location of the razed barn and stone lined ditch.

There was no evidence of any unmarked human burials, grave shafts, inhumations, cremations or red ochre features observed during the controlled monitoring of the house foundation or the power, water and sewer lines. No precontact Native American artifacts or cultural features related to other domestic or task-specific activities were identified. The monitoring effort only took about three hours of time during portions of two days to complete the investigation. It does not appear that construction of the [REDACTED] house and associated infrastructure will disturb or destroy any unmarked Abenaki burials.

St. Francis/Sokoki Missisquoi Abenaki Application For Vermont State Recognition Pages 239 - 244:

 Page 239

[REDACTED] Unmarked Burial Protocol
Taylor Archaeological Investigation,Town of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont
David Skinas
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
May 9, 2006

The landowners applied for a building permit from the Town of Swanton to replace the existing trailer with a house. The area of potential effect is located about 60 feet south of the 2004 radar study plot (Figure 1). Elevation changes in the ground surface suggested that extensive fill had been placed around the trailer during initial construction in 1981 (Photo 1). The new house would overlap the footprint of the trailer by approximately 6-12 feet to the north and south, and extend another 26 feet to the west into the driveway (Photo 2). A concrete foundation will be ...

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Figure 1. Auger Core Distribution at the [REDACTED] Project.

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... built three feet below surface. On May 9, 2006 I extracted five three-inch diameter auger cores to determine the presence and extent of fill within the area of potential effect (Figure 1). Approximately three feet of fill was observed over a truncated B horizon in all of the auger samples that ranged in depth from 3 feet 3 inches below surface at its deepest point in Core 2 and 2 feet 10 inches at its shallowest depth in Core 4. This fill is the same material identified in the 2004 study plot that was probably placed during the establishment of the trailer in 1981.A shovel was used to expose the edge of the septic tank and fill was observed out to this point of the backyard located 28 feet south-southwest of the trailer. The surface drops a foot or more to the south of the septic tank (Photo 1). Based on the current building design there will be no disturbance to the intact subsoil. The project area is also located 380 feet from the closest natural drainage in an area that is not considered to have a high potential to contain unmarked precontact or historic period Abenaki graves. The landowner has agreed to halt excavation slightly above or at the top of the truncated B horizon and not intrude into it. He will also notify me when construction will begin so I can have the opportunity to observe the excavation. If these conditions are met then it is highly unlikely that any unmarked Abenaki burials will be inadvertently disturbed during construction.

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Photo 1. Shows the backyard of resident and change in elevation at shovel-septic area. Stake between steps and fuel tank marks SE corner of foundation, facing west.

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Photo 2. Front yard of residence facing west. The stake in center foreground marks the NE corner of foundation.

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The Alburg Gravel Pit Project: an Abenaki Cemetery and Village site.
David Skinas
USDA NRCS
March 2007

In late summer of 2000 an unmarked burial was discovered during the excavation of gravel in Alburg, Grand Isle County, Vermont. The state police were notified and the state archaeologist determined that the remains were archaeological in nature and not the result of a recent homicide. The site was listed as [REDACTED] in the Vermont Archaeological Inventory. The UVM archaeologist established that the remains were Native American and the Abenaki Tribal Council was notified to deal with the burial according to their tradition. At the time the governor's office believed this body was an isolated burial and not part of a larger cemetery.

A second burial eroded out of the gravel pit wall in March or April 2001 about 30 meters from the first burial. The administration still maintained that these two burials did not constitute a cemetery. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) in partnership with the Vt. Division for Historical Preservation and Abenaki tribal representatives conducted a non-intrusive ground penetrating radar study to locate additional graves in June of 2001. The radar results were inconclusive because of the many rocks contained within the gravelly soil and the calcareous composition of the soils did not produce reliable radar signals. Although the radar study was not helpful in locating additional graves it was believed that many other unmarked burials existed in the gravel deposit. The recovery of a pottery sherd during the study suggested that this site was also used for habitation. An agreement between the partners on how to best deal with the site could not be reached and communication broke down. No further investigations were conducted at the site between June 2001 and September 2006 but gravel extraction continued around the burials. 

On September 5, 2006 John Hall, the Commissioner of Housing and Community Affairs, set up a meeting with the landowner and myself to try and resolve the impasse. As a member of the Missisquoi Task Force on Native American Affairs I [David Skinas] also represented the Abenakis at this meeting. The landowner wanted to get to the last deposit of good gravel on his property located in the area where the burials were found.

An on-site agreement was reached by the three of us whereby: 1) I would monitor controlled excavation of the overburden to determine if additional burials existed on the knoll. Controlled excavation is defined as using of a straight edge bucket to peel back the soil in a think layer 3-6 inches thick. 2) If only two more human burials were identified during the monitoring operation they would be exhumed and re-interred nearby. If more than two additional burials were found...

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... in the ground during monitoring then the site would be designated as a cemetery by the state and all ground disturbance would be abandoned. 3) The state would then seek funding to compensate the landowner for the value of the gravel that he could no longer access for commercial uses.

The monitoring operation began on September 14, 2006. Within two days of the monitoring operations two intact Abenaki graves exposed and designated burials 3 and 4 (burials 1 and 2 came out in 2000 an 2001). These two bodies were lying in a flexed position. A fire pit contained burned bone of deer and beaver was located about a meter from burial 3. Two ornately decorated broken pots were also recovered from the fire pit that dated to 1400-1600 AD. It appears that the body was buried in a wigwam which was a typical mortuary practice for this time period. The third intact grave (burial 5) was identified soon after that confirmed the site as an Abenaki cemetery and not just a location of random burials. The three intact graves and two bodies that had fallen out of the pit walls in 2000 and 2001 were found within a 100 foot diameter area. All excavation was halted in this area and moved 200 feet to the south to try and find the cemetery boundaries so an access road could be cut to the southern gravel pit without disturbing more burials. The remains of post molds from the frame of a wigwam, long house or other structure was uncovered at the southern end of the site. A fire pit and smaller diameter post molds were found within the structure that probably represent drying racks, bed frame or other domestic furnishings. The fourth intact burial (#6) was found in a flexed position about 15 meters south of the wigwam where the access road was being cut. All excavation was halted at this point because the cemetery appeared to extend further south along the remainder of the property where the good gravel was located. A third fire pit with burned bone and pottery sherds was also discovered eroding out of the pit wall about 10 meters from the last burial.

The two bodies uncovered in 2000 and 2001 had been reburied by gravel pit workers in 2003 (we estimate) in a trench along the property boundary. We excavated that trench and recovered those remains so that they would be re-interred according to Abenaki custom. The UVM forensic anthropologist who examined the intact graves also analyzed these burials and found that there were three bodies and not just the two as initially thought. Together with the four intact graves found during the excavation in 2006 a total of seven burials have been found at the site. Abenaki oral history speaks of a refuge village that was established in the interior of Alburg that the tribe retreated to during periods of pressure from the colonists such as after Roger's Raid and the American Revolution. There is a strong possibility that this site is what is left of that refuge village. 

The [REDACTED] remains extremely important archaeological deposits and at least seven human burials, and undoubtedly many more, from the Late Woodland Period dating around 1400-1600 AD. Archaeological sites have intact cultural features such as fire pits and house remnants have the potential to provide extraordinary information about settlement patterns and subsistence preferences. The presence of an intact Abenaki cemetery from this time period is of exceptional significance making this site clearly eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

In November money from the state burial fund was used to begin restoring the cemetery to over the graves and archaeological features and to stabilize the vertical pit walls that would otherwise ...

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... erode during the winter. Wet and cold weather halted the restoration effort in December but will commence again in the spring. The site has been largely stabilized and will be protected from the harsh winter weather. The last piece of the project is to obtain funds to compensate the landowner for the loss of commercial gravel. NRCS conducted a topographic survey and used their geologist to map the depth and extent of the various grades of gravel. The Landowner and I then sat down and applied fair market prices for the in-ground value of the material. The total compensation needed is $-----. The Vermont Housing and Conservation board is willing to put in $----- which is the limit of their annual conservation fund, but need to find a match for the remaining $-----.