SWANTON, Vt. (WCAX) – New efforts by Vermont’s Abenaki Nation aim to tackle tobacco addiction.

The Department of Health just awarded nearly $800,000 in grants to curb tobacco use.

An Indigenous group in Swanton is using their funds to teach their youngest members cultural uses of the plant.

“Tobacco is sacred to our people,” said Chief Brenda Gagne of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi.

The smell of tobacco wafts through Chief Brenda Gagne’s earliest memories. Like generations of Abenaki, her tribe uses the leaves for peace offerings, as medicine, and as gifts.

“It wasn’t meant to be smoked, like European tradition does. It was more of ceremonial purposes and traditions,” said Gagne.

But over the years, Gagne has watched tribal members fall into tobacco addiction with the rest of the world. It’s touched members of all ages.

“I hear the younger kids are doing it sooner and younger also,” she said.

Tobacco addiction is a statewide issue. According to the Department of Health, almost a quarter of adults use tobacco products, and vaping rates doubled since 2016.

Gagne is eager to be part of the solution. She and her daughter run tobacco education programs for Swanton youth through the education organization Abenaki Circle of Courage.

“The amazing part is kids if you get them before the third grade, they have memories like a sponge. They just absorb it like there’s no tomorrow,” she said.

Gagne leads a summer program, while her daughter uses art therapy to teach middle and high schoolers about addiction and other issues.

“It’s a universal language. So kids will be able to explore things without even realizing at first, the things that we’re discussing, how important they are because it’s through a creative process,” said Felicia Cota of Circle of Courage.

Gagne says the programming helps kids connect with Abenaki heritage while understanding the dangers of smoking.

Some have even convinced their parents to quit.

“It actually worked into adults also, it’s not just for the youth. So I think bringing that to life a little bit more is going to be crucial,” said Gagne.

A new grant from the Vermont Department of Health will strengthen their work.

Abenaki Circle of Courage just received $60,500 per year over the next two years to keep the education going.

“When I got the grant I was actually beside myself because I didn’t think there was a chance that Indigenous groups would get monies, you know, to be able to do what we do on a normal basis,” said Gagne.

It’s the largest grant they’ve ever received from the state.

Gagne views the support as a step in the right direction, given Vermont’s history of eugenics and displacement of Indigenous people.

“Getting funding from the state of Vermont means they’re still with us and they’re still backing us which is really important for us,” said Gagne.

Other grant recipients are using funds for everything from tobacco prevention to treatment services for pregnant smokers.

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MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont GOP will officially back former president Donald Trump despite him being a convicted felon.

The party has several criteria on who they can support, and those rules exclude people convicted of felonies.

Trump– the party’s standard-bearer– was convicted of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments to an adult film star.

So the Vermont GOP’s executive committee recently voted to waive its rule and will now support Trump.

“We just felt that the process hasn’t played out completely and because he’s our presidential nominee, people on the executive committee felt it was important to address,” Vermont Republican Party Chair Paul Dame said.

Democratic Party leaders call the decision to waive the rule morally bankrupt and call the former president a threat to democracy.

At next month’s national convention, nine of Vermont’s 17 delegates will go for Ambassador Nikki Haley and eight for former president Trump.

Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.

Late Wednesday night, the union representing nearly 2,000 nurses at the state’s largest hospital said it had reached a tentative contract with leaders at UVM Medical Center. The two sides agreed to a 23% pay increase over the next three years for nurses, nurse practitioners and licensed practical nurses who work for the hospital system.

“This is the largest wage increase nurses at UVMMC have seen in the 21 year history of the union,” according to a union press release.

The agreement comes after the union issued a five-day strike notification at the beginning of the week. Hospital officials estimated a strike would have cost the medical center over $10 million to pay for temporary staff, travel, hotels, and to make up for delayed procedures.

Currently, nurse pay accounts for 8% of the hospital’s budget, or about $147 million per year, according to a hospital representative.

Earlier this week, the president of the hospital, Dr. Stephen Leffler, said their budget for next year allocated a 5% pay increase for nursing staff.

“We’ve already exceeded that, and we’ll have to manage that within the budget,” he said.

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