The $10,000 Question

In the vein of my favorite game show of all time, The Price is Right (with Bob Barker, not that imposter, Drew Carey!), I introduce you to a game that is similar in nature:

Meet our contestants for today’s episode of  “Name the Legitimate Abenakis!“

Our first contestant is Douglas Lloyd Buchholz! Come on down, Douglas!

Karen Mica! Come on down, Karen!

Nancy Millette-Doucet!  Come on down, Nancy!

Luke Willard! Come on down, Luke!

April Merrill!  Come on down, April!

Howard Knight! Come down, Howard!

And our final contestants are anyone else with a vested interest in Abenaki recognition! Come on down, folks! The potluck is to your left!

And now, your host, Brad Barratt!

 

While humor is sometimes necessary, in all seriousness, there is just one question: If all of these people are not legitimate Abenakis, then who is?

That’s my question in all of this mess. Do we really have any way of knowing or are we left to guess and piece together what (scant)  evidence there is?

Again, it all comes down to the motives of all of the players in this mess. As has been said,some people want money, prestige and power. Others want the right to sell their crafts using their heritage. There are players who want casinos and land grants. Some people want revenge while others want to hobnob with Vermont politicians (been there, done that, not impressed – editor).

It’s one big jumbled mess and honestly, It’s good to have open discussions on such a forum. Why is it good? Because one is constantly being bombarded with information that is contradictory or not well-thought out.

I think it’s fair to remember that despite what many of us have done, we are all human (unless you have green, scaly skin and bulging eyes).

The big question still remains and one thing is clear:  Even if the current VCNAA comes crashing down, what’s next? Where do people go from there?

Regardless, the holidays are here. Drink merrily, eat plentifully and enjoy the short break because once these holidays are over, it’s back to business and back to answering the $10,000 question!

Breaking the Vermont media chokehold on non-Alliance Abenakis

Since Shay Totten would not print my answers to his questions, I have decided to repost the email that I sent to him with my candid thoughts on the old commission and the current commission.

12/21/10 Correction:  A mis-communication occurred here on my part. In the future, clarification will be sought out before printing anything on this blog.

I’m sure that Shay has a good reason for not re-printing these answers.

However, I’m leery of Vermont media and the way it has treated Abenakis that are not connected with the so-called “Abenaki Alliance”. If you’ll recall, the Vermont media (Burlington Free Press, Seven Days, WCAX and WGDR) have all published the side of the Abenaki Alliance while ignoring the other side. These outlets can hardly be called “fair and balanced” as a result.

As always, I am open to share my thoughts as a former VCNAA member. I encourage the Vermont media to seek out alternative voices on native recognition.

Here is the correspondence between Mr.Totten and I. I have combined his questions from one email with my answers:

Shay Totten: What advice would you have for members of the new commission in terms of working together & going about their work?

Me: I really don’t have an answer for this as I feel this commission is far more biased than the commission I was a member of. One of the biggest complaints of Donald Stevens, et.al, was that the old VCNAA did not support the efforts of the Alliance to gain recognition. Speaking for myself at the time, I felt that their evidence was “flimsy” (and I still do) and there was no way that I could support their claims. As you can see,the new commission is stacked with Alliance members, Alliance allies and only two representatives from non-Alliance tribes/bands (Nathan Pero and Charlene McManis). In other words, it is worse than it was when I was a member.

Shay: Is there something the commission should do that the previous commission didn’t?

Me: On the topic of bias, this new commission needs to understand that they do not have any representatives from the Lampman band, Odanak and other natives within Vermont (except for Mr.Pero and Ms.McManis). Without the support of these bands/families, this commission will not succeed. I suggest that they reach out somehow.When I was a member of the old commission, we made several attempts to engage theAlliance members as part of the commission process and countless times, they rebuffed our efforts, called us names and interfered with the activities of a state commission by circumventing our work via S.222.

Shay: Is there something the commission should NOT do that the previous commission did?

Me: The current commission should not put too much trust into the words of state politicians. We have seen that politicians such as Jim Douglas, Hinda Miller and Vince Illuzzi are out of touch with the native people in the State of Vermont. Vince and Hinda were strongly pro-Alliance, despite the flimsy evidence and politicking behind the scenes. On the old commission, we tackled issues other than recognition. I do not believe the current commission is committed to anything but the issue of recognition. This is a recipe for disaster and it was a major distraction for the old commission.

Shay: Do you feel the commission represents a broad spectrum of Vermont’s native peoples?

Me: As I have answered above, the current commission does NOT represent a broad spectrum of Native peoples in the State of Vermont. It is 98% Alliance-backed with only 2% of non-Alliance tribes/bands. My biggest gripe with this current commission has to do with the fact that many of the scholars that the new commission listed in their meeting minutes are/were affiliated with Alliance tribes. These scholars include Frederick Wiseman (which should not be the case as Mr.Wiseman’s son is on this new commission and Mr.Wiseman himself has worked closely with the Alliance tribes to gain recognition), John Moody and Dave Skinas. In conclusion, this commission is illegal, biased and should not exist as it is. I regret my support for S.222 as it has not panned out as it was planned! It was not supposed to be slanted towards the Alliance tribes and now, it is. I have given my perspective and I hope you will consider it.

Shay: What would you most like to see the commission accomplish

Me: (I did not answer this question as I do not support this new commission).

Authentic Vermont? Hardly.

Older article with yet more b.s from Miss Doucet.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/blog/authenticvt/2008/07/abenaki-leaders-want-to-preserve.html

Millette and other members of the New Hampshire-based White Pine Association, a nonprofit group formed to improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of the Koasek people and assist other tribes in the preservation of Abenaki history and culture, have begun the first phase in a regional language preservation campaign. Using grant money, the group has purchased a dictionary and audio recordings of the fading dialect and is building a Web site that will host the audio recordings and a copy of the dictionary when it is up and running. Millette said copies of the recordings will be mailed free to those without Internet access.

Why would a Vermont newspaper give credence to an organization based in New Hampshire? Millette is hardly the first person to advocate for the teaching of the Abenaki language to Abenaki children. In fact, there are already websites with the Abenaki language that have been available on the internet for some time:

Native Languages of the Americas: Abnaki-Penobscot Language (Abénakis, Alnôbak)
Common Abenaki Words on Ne-Do-Ba

The following comment on this link sums it up:

This woman is a fraud! She is NOT and Abenaki and the geneology shown on the attached link proves it. What she is doing is commendable but like everything she does it is, at it’s core, self-serving! She simply likes to get her picture in the paper and be the center of attention. Those of us who have known her for years already know this to be true!

Unfortunately, the link in question no longer works. It is not really needed as Miss Doucet is already infamous by now.

My question goes, what makes this woman

An expert on all things Abenaki?

The same can be asked of Frederick Matthew Wiseman as well.

Are these nefarious people attempting to re-write Abenaki history and culture for their own benefit? What would they do if the Abenaki Alliance gained recognition? History tells us that they are selfish people who want nothing more to bask in the limelight and con the Vermont legislature, the Vermont governor and the Vermont media into giving them exactly what they want.