VT House votes out revised version of S.222

According to my source, the VT House has voted out the revised version of S.222, otherwise known as the Abenaki recognition bill. It will be debated today (4/29)  and tomorrow (4/30) and likely be passed and sent back to the Senate. A conference committee will be appointed.

One can only hope that the bill makes it out with no changes or minor changes.

Those who choose to stand in the way of this bill, say hateful things about others or wish for the death of this bill, should know that they are standing in the way of a fair process for recognition of Native Americans in the state of Vermont. They should know that should they attempt to derail this bill, they will become enemies of progress. It is selfish to try and derail such a process.

Shay Totten article on S.222

http://www.7dvt.com/2010identity-politics

Thoughts are that it starts out with the usual bit of history, follows up with what appears to be sympathy for Hinda and Vince and then in my opinion, attempts to paint the House as instigators or the “bad guys”.

Amateurish at best. Sorry Shay, but you are not a worthy successor to Peter Freyne (god rest his soul) , nor could you ever fill his shoes.

“Chief” Luke Willard on WGDR, 4/26

An interesting development has come forth. Luke Willard will be no doubt airing his grievances on S.222 on WGDR radio on 4/26/10.

http://www.vtcommons.org/blog/2010/04/22/ethan-allen-chief-luke-willard-larry-edelson-and-michael-ruppert

If you do listen in and you’re already familiar with Luke’s schtick,  there’s bound to be inaccuracies, name-calling and general muck-raking about.

That’s April 26 at 8am on WGDR, Goddard College radio (www.wgdr.org). If you want, here’s the number for the station should you feel like countering whatever he says:

(802)454-7762

All’s fair in love and war, Luke.

Thoughts on Fred Wiseman book, “The Voice Of The Dawn”

In my quest to find more information on the Abenakis in Vermont, I stumbled upon a copy of a book by Fred Wiseman titled “The Voice Of the Dawn: An Autohistory of the Abenaki Nation“. As much as I disagree with Fred himself, I still give him some credit for attempting to document the political struggles of Abenakis in Vermont, even if the book seems to have a strong, pro-St.Francis/Sokoki bent to it.

Of strong interest is this paragraph on page 181 when referring to the Mazipskwik and fighting battles in the “Anglo” press:

Grand Chief St.Francis quickly responded, saying that Native American tradition makes it fitting for the chieftainship to to stay in the St.Francis family. He noted that those who left “could not make the grade” regarding the more rigorous genealogical requirements for membership (Page 181 Mazipskwik The Voice of the Dawn: An Autohistory of the Abenaki Nation by Frederick Wiseman)

The only problem with making someone Chief for life is that you are effectively cutting off the ability of your peers to decide who they want to represent your tribe to the outside world. This is akin to a Dictator making his family members his successors or a King ensuring that only his children will succeed him.

This, if anything, has led to the political issues that exist among Vermont Abenakis. The core difference that existed between Blackie Lampman and Homer St.Francis lied within their approach to dealing with outside authorities. While the idea of civil disobedience is noble and required in certain cases, it should not get to a point where it is the de facto approach to dealing with certain authorities. This was Homer’s approach. Instead, diplomacy and the willingness to work within the parameters of a flawed system to change that system is in my opinion, the way to go when it comes to dealing with the “Anglo” world (Fred’s favorite word by the way).

Another interesting part on Page 161 talks in-depth about the Tribal Election of 1987:

Tribal politics had become a power struggle between two family bands (note: St.Francis and Lampman) that spilled over into the courts. The old processes of condolence, consolation and consensus in chief-making were forgotten in the heat of the moment. Also, the new government-required form of electoral succession was probably inappropriate for the political fabric of mid-80s Missisquoi. The St.Francis family perceived that this was a direct attack on their right to the chieftainship, using their oppressor, the Vermont state government. In response, (Homer) St.Francis and his backers used their power from within rather than seeking outside aid, making a strategic decision that would have lasting effects on the development of the Abenaki Nation. They nurtured a re-write of the tribal constitution to increase the chief’s executive power. It also made St.Francis chief for life, blocking the capacity of the electoral process for resolving interfamily political conflict. He also moved to have Lester Lampman and his supporters voted out from positions of power in tribal government.(Page 161 The Turning Point of 1987 The Voice of the Dawn: An Autohistory of the Abenaki Nation by Frederick Wiseman)

It’s not hard to see where things went wrong. It’s amazing how (alleged) election fraud and a fear of state government would drive the St.Francis band to do such a thing. In my opinion, they effectively killed their own tribe and destroyed any legitimacy that the St.Francis band had in the state of Vermont. Can you imagine if the Vermont governor decided to fire the Senate and Legislature and re-write the Vermont Constitution to make himself Governor for Life? Of course there would be an uproar and in the case of the actions of the St.Francis band, it’s no surprise that people became divided.

However, it should be noted that it was not the state of Vermont that divided and conquered Abenakis in this case. It was the St.Francis band that did so with their re-write of the tribal constitution and cleansing of their opposition from the tribal council. Their actions to this day, which involve attempting to force through legislation that would only benefit them and their friends is really no surprise at all. Nothing’s changed there and nothing will change as long as a St.Francis continues to represent Missisquoi.

While it is true that politics divide people and make them say and do things that they normally otherwise would not do, it’s important to understand that there is a lot at stake in this current political battle involving S.222. However, you cannot deny that years of anger and frustration over a lack of recognition have the power to transform people into warriors and pit friend against friend, brother against brother, etc.

In the end, a fair process for recognition should win out.

Who’s hateful now, Luke?

Check out this Facebook page for a bit of revulsion and amusement as well:
http://tinyurl.com/nulheganfacebook

Apparently, when Luke and his people don’t get what they want, they resort to hateful speech. They keep claiming that as long as this legislature is in session, they will not be recognized.

Yes Luke, the people of Vermont do know who the Abenakis are but perhaps, they know those who are not Abenakis as well!!

This is not the first time Luke Willard has used hateful speech. He’s insulted colleagues of mine, attacking their sexual preferences and appearances.

May I suggest that you deal with this in a professional manner instead of name-calling? You are making a mockery out of Native Americans in this state with your childish antics. A screaming, crying baby will continue to scream and cry until it is pacified. Perhaps you need to pacify yourselves?

Real change comes from people with real courage, not people who stomp around, holler and use racist/sexist/misogynist language.

Remember, no matter what you say or do online, someone will always be watching!

Where They Failed

Video comes from vcnaa.

I absolutely, positively must stress that before you vote out ANY bill, a fact-finding mission is not just optional, but it should be a requirement of any state committee. The way they were quick to vote this out was foolish and it quite possibly hurt any credibility that this committee had. Hinda Miller led this ill-fated effort and her background on this bill ( her association with “spiritual healer”  Dwyani  Ywahoo)  should have disqualified her from any further work on it.

The comments posted under this video on youtube seem to accuse the AG’s office of using the same old playbook. However, the true intentions of those seeking legislation must be documented and the AG’s office is correct to have concerns, especially when you look at the groups who wanted this bill to be rushed through with little public comment.

This folks is a lesson on what not to do as a state politician.

States with Native Commissions

I decided to research into other states that have native american or native american-related commissions. Listed are links to the site for each respective state commission. If you know something I don’t about this, feel free to fill me in and I will update it accordingly:

California:
http://www.nahc.ca.gov/

Colorado:
http://tinyurl.com/yhp86gu

Florida:
http://www.fgcia.com/

Indiana:
http://www.in.gov/dwd/2533.htm

Iowa:
http://openup.iowa.gov/board/Commission+on+Native+American+Affairs/97/

Kentucky:
http://heritage.ky.gov/knahc/

Maryland:
http://www.americanindian.maryland.gov/

Massachusetts:
http://tinyurl.com/574ceg

Nebraska:
http://www.indianaffairs.state.ne.us/

New Jersey:
http://www.state.nj.us/state/divisions/community/indian/

New Mexico:
http://www.iad.state.nm.us/

North Dakota:
http://www.nd.gov/indianaffairs

Oklahoma:
http://www.ok.gov/oiac/

Oregon:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/cis/

South Dakota:
http://www.state.sd.us/oia/history.asp

Tennessee:
http://tn.gov/environment/boards/tcia/

Utah:
http://indian.utah.gov/

Virginia:
http://indians.vipnet.org/councilMembers.cfm

Washington State:
http://www.goia.wa.gov/

States with Native American commisions/councils that don’t have a website:

Georgia
Delaware
Hawaii
Kansas
Maine
Michigan
Montana
Minnesota
New York
North Carolina

© Brad Barratt Vermont Native Journal, 2010.

VT House to discuss S.222 Tues, 4/13

Vermont House Committee scheduled to discuss S.222

Vermont House Committee Schedule to discuss S.222

Tuesday April 13, 2010

10:00 floor

15 min after adjournment S.222

1:15 Caucus

15 min. after adjournment S.222

Shaking it all up

This is the post that started it all. Keep in mind, this is kind of old as well and pre-VCNAA as well.  This post alone is the catalyst for the email from the Missisquoi Tribal Council. It took them 2 years to notice it.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/20/539505/-Shaking-up-the-tribe

Just so  you know.

Parts 1 and 2 of my mission have already been accomplished. I’ll leave you to guess my next move.

I decided to research into other states that have native american or native american-related commissions. Listed are links to the site for each respective state commission. If you know something I don’t about this, feel free to fill me in and I will update it accordingly:

I decided to research into other states that have native american or native american-related commissions. Listed are links to the site for each respective state commission. If you know something I don’t about this, feel free to fill me in and I will update it accordingly:

© Brad Barratt Vermont Native Journal, 2010.

Interesting Youtube find

If you grew up in Swanton like I did, you might be familiar with this scenario. Video is from 1987.