Reply #185: Dean to the Abenaki - Not on my watch! [View All]

[SahaleArm]

If only the Abenaki would put on their feathers, dance their dances and agree to be the sort of feel-good cultural attraction Vermont tourist officials could promote.

That, it would appear, is the attitude the state will go on taking toward the long-maligned tribe until the day Gov. Howard Dean leaves office in January.

...

The state's position, from its perch outside the loop, is that federal Census and other data in the period of 1860 to 1960 show little evidence of an ongoing Abenaki organization in Vermont.

"One of the criterion is if there was a meaningful community of individuals that existed as a political entity for that time," Chief Deputy Attorney General William Griffin said. "We've seen no evidence of that."

Various Native American scholars at Dartmouth College, the University of Vermont and elsewhere disagree.

They say that, for decades, the Abenaki simply hid their heritage from Census workers and others under fear of persecution.

"Just because it was hidden doesn't mean it wasn't real," historian Nancy Callahan said.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/Columnists/Sam/0313042611.htm