Vermont
Vermont’s Abenaki tribes are once again called out as frauds at UVM symposium
The authenticity of Vermont’s Abenaki tribes was once again rejected by a Canadian sociologist on Thursday evening at the University of Vermont.
Professor Darryl Leroux said his research using an extensive Canadian genealogy database has shown the families in Vermont originally claiming to be Abenaki were “clearly French-Canadian.”
“There’s such obvious and compelling evidence these groups do not represent Abenaki people in any way and have no Abenaki ancestry,” Leroux said. “How did the state of Vermont recognize them as such and why did they recognize them after writing a report saying they were not Abenaki? That’s something I still don’t understand.”
Leroux said he has met with “a couple of” Vermont legislators about the issue but couldn’t get answers to his questions.
Pretendians threaten sovereignty of Native American nations in the U.S. and Canada
An audience filled the Livak Ballroom at the University of Vermont’s Davis Center Thursday evening for the third in a series of three presentations contending Vermont’s four Abenaki tribes are fake.
There were similar presentations in 2022 and 2023 at UVM.
Professor David Massell of UVM’s Department of History introduced the speakers for the event, which included Gordon Henry, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan’s English and American Indian and Indigenous Studies departments; Pam Palmater, a podcaster and documentary filmmaker who advocates for indigenous issues; and Leroux, an associate professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa.
Palmater is citizen of the Mi’kmaw Nation and member of Eel River Bar First Nation in Canada. Henry is an enrolled member of the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation in Minnesota.
Palmater and Henry kicked off the symposium by discussing how widespread the problem posed by so-called “pretendians” − non-native people who claim to be Native Americans − is in both the United States and Canada.
“It’s literally a threat to our sovereignty, our nationhood/citizenship, our culture and political standing in the future, so I feel passionately about the topic,” Palmater said of Native American imposters.
Vermont Abenakis can’t show they actually descend from Abenakis, according to Canadian professor
Leroux, speaking last, addressed the issue of Vermont’s four Abenaki tribes, which have received state recognition, but failed to achieve federal recognition, a decision that was initially backed by the state of Vermont.
“One of the primary reasons that really stands out in both the federal decision and state’s research is that the group wasn’t able to demonstrate they actually descend from Abenaki people,” Leroux said. “That’s the key. You have to demonstrate that at some point in time you actually had Abenaki people in your lineage. They have not been able to demonstrate that.”
Three of the four Abenaki chiefs in Vermont held a press conference earlier this week to denounce Thursday’s event at UVM and the ongoing effort by the Abenakis of Odanak in Canada to convince the state of Vermont to rescind its recognition of the Vermont tribes.
Canadian Abenaki chief says Vermont is ancestral territory
Rick O’Bomsawin, chief of the Abenakis of Odanak in Canada, was not scheduled to speak, but he stood up at the end of the event to say his tribe is willing to work with anyone to “bring the truth out about our real history and the important history of Vermont.”
“Vermont is our ancestral territory,” O’Bomsawin said. “We left this land in the hands of the good people of Vermont to take care of, to watch over, not to become us, not to take over our history.”
O’Bomsawin and a delegation from Odanak recently made their case against Vermont’s Abenakis at the 23rd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DanDambrosioVT.
Plié It Cool
Sunday 30
Catamount Arts hosts Houston Ballet II, a student-centric arm of America’s fourth-largest dance company, for a showcase of mesmerizing and diverse works at Lyndon Institute. The stellar cast of budding young artists from around the world performs excerpts from timeless masterpieces “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Don Quixote” and “A Dance in the Garden of Mirth.”
Imagination Nation
Ongoing
Brattleboro Museum & Art Center’s seventh iteration of the crowd-favorite “Glasstastic” exhibit features fanciful sculptures precisely rendered from elementary schoolkids’ drawings of imaginary creatures. New England glass artists selected the 21 finalists out of 1,000 submissions from across the country, then transformed their colorful, quirky creations into sparkling 3D works of art.
Teen Spirit
Thursday 27-Saturday 29
Addison Repertory Theatre — Vermont’s only technical education program for stagecraft — marks 30 years of enriching students’ lives with its original work I’ll Tell You a Secret at the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury. The full-length stage play, written and designed by teens, delivers spooky vibes in spades with a ghost-focused plot and chill-inducing tech effects and illusions.
No Frets Given
Friday 28
Isidore String Quartet make their Middlebury debut at the college’s Mahaney Arts Center with a classical-meets-contemporary program titled “Unrequited.” The Juilliard School-born ensemble brings passionate playing to the concert hall with works reflecting the often complicated pathways of love, featuring treasured composers spanning centuries — from Ludwig van Beethoven to Billy Childs.
Good Mourning
Opens Friday 28
Small Potatoes Theater mounts Pamela Formica’s gripping new play series Switch at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington. The four short works traverse labyrinthine themes from which folks tend to shy away, such as loss and death, and urge audience members to confront the messy, absurd and even laughable ways in which our species grapples with the inevitable.
Chef’s Kiss
Saturday 29
This month’s Food for Talk Cookbook Book Club at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington gathers gastronomes for an unmissable culinary chat about José Andrés’ James Beard Award-winning foodie bible, The World Central Kitchen Cookbook. Recipe contributor Sam Chapple-Sokol joins to share anecdotes about the collection’s content, which centers on feeding communities during global crises.
Play Favorites
Sunday 30
Capital City Concerts returns with series founder and Grammy-nominated flutist Karen Kevra at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. Pianist Jeffrey Chappell joins the lauded musician and educator in a jubilant program titled “Her Favorite Things: Celebrating Three Decades of Music-Making in Vermont” — a nod to Kevra’s extraordinary musical journey since moving to the golden dome city.
NY winter driving tips to keep you safe
Winter can be hard on cars and challenge drivers. If you have to drive in the snow, check out these tips for getting there and back again safely.
A little bit of snow is possible in Vermont today, particularly in the higher elevations.
Much of New York and Vermont, including Burlington, are under a hazardous weather warning with anything from a dusting to three inches of snow possible, depending on location, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The snow will likely begin during the morning commute.
“A quick moving system will bring snow showers to the North Country today with light accumulations. 1-2 inches are possible across southern Vermont, up to 3 inches for higher terrain, and a dusting to around an inch is expected elsewhere,” the advisory says. “Some slick conditions will be possible for the morning commute.”
By the afternoon, the weather is forecasted to shift to rain.
“Afternoon showers in valleys should be mainly rain, but some snow could mix in at times if precipitation rates increase,” the Forecaster’s Discussion says. “The winds will remain breezy with this system, so gusts to around 30 mph are anticipated keeping conditions feeling quite brisk for late March.”
What’s the prediction for the rest of the week in Burlington?
It’s a cold start to the week.
AccuWeather is forecasting their could be a few snow or rain showers again on Tuesday, with a low of 33 degrees and a high of 44.
On Wednesday, the forecast is “cloudy with a flurry” and a low of 28 degrees and a high of 41.
Thursday is the first day of the week there is no precipitation in the forecast, with partly sunny skies and a low of 31 degrees and a high of 49.
Friday is expected to be cloudy, and so is Saturday, which could hamper views of the partial solar eclipse, which will start right at dawn on Saturday.
A combined 18 goals were scored over two games during the 39th Rotary All Star Classic at Essex Skating Facility on Saturday.
Harris swept both matchups, with the girls winning 7-3 followed by a 5-3 result in the boys contest featuring the state’s top high school hockey players from this year’s senior class.
Laine Thayer of Spaulding was the team MVP for the Harris girls squad; Rice’s Finley Strong earned top honors for the Austin girls.
The MVPs on the boys side were Tyler Russo of Rice (Harris) and South Burlington’s Lucas Van Mullen (Austin).
Game details from Saturday’s doubleheader:
Girls game: Harris 7, Austin 3
Harris: Taylor Senecal 3G, 1A. Laine Thayer 2G. Ellie Parker 1G, 2A. Addie Parent 1G, 1A. Erin Jackson 10 saves, Riley Quesnel 8 saves.
Austin: Meghan Rivard 1G. Annabelle Lekstutis 1G. Rebecca Penney 1G. Holley MacLellan 1A. Lindsay Boyden 1A. Finley Strong 1A. Cassidy Skoda 1A. Leah Boyd 13 saves, Ruby Hubbell 14 saves.
Note: Austin built a 3-1 with 3:38 left in the first period before Harris fired in six unanswered goals starting with Thayer’s tally with five seconds left in the opening frame. Senecal leveled the score in the first minute of the second period and Parker tallied the go-ahead goal at 8:49.
Boys game: Harris 5, Austin 3
Harris: Tyler Russo 2G. AJ Dennett 1G, 1A. Owen McGunnigle 1G. Shyam Meyette 1G. Sayre Fisher 1A. Brendan Patterson 1A. Nolan Morlock 1A. Sam Collins 13 saves, Torren Burt 15 saves.
Austin: Carson Lewis 1G. Lucas Van Mullen 1G. Carel Paquin 1G. Maddox Heise 2A. Alex Dick 1A. Carel Paquin 1A. Phoenix Wells 9 saves, Owen Cheney 5 saves, Noah Bruttomesso 7 saves.
Note: Russo scored the first of two unassisted goals for a 3-1 lead at 10:13 of the second period. Harris extended its margin to 5-1 on Russo’s second tally midway through the third.
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
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