I recently acquired information from Fred M. Wiseman’s document, “Against The Darkness.” As with any other Fred M. Wiseman PH.D(!) document, one must certainly put on their bull-shit filter (which he actually mentions!) and gas mask in order to wade through this murky swamp.
Page 16 with the “BS Filter” remark. Just thought it was interesting that Fred knows what a BS Filter is. I’ve used mine on more than one occasion when reading his documents.
But, Page 14 is even more interesting because in this document, Fred seems to be attacking/making fun of the very same groups that he’s trying to get the state of Vermont to recognize. It’s a covert attack that probably means little today (they likely forgave him) but shows that he can be two-faced at times.
1. This is somewhat true as before 2008, I personally had never heard of any other group/tribe/whatever of indians within the state of Vermont. I’m not sure about the “drunken frenchmen” part as I’ve never heard that term used. I have personally heard the term “injun” used more.
2. These “other organized groups” must refer to people like the El-Nu, Koasek and Nulhegan. They seem to fit Fred’s own criteria (recently emerged, little or no political clout (hence the need for an alliance) and generally unknown to most non-natives in Vermont).
3. “Professional Abenakis” can mean anything. Generally, people who make their living from crafts, storytelling and so forth.
4. “Assimilated Abenakis” are generally Abenakis that recognize their culture but wish to be known as Vermonters or Americans. With all of the current political crap, I can’t blame people for wanting nothing to do with their heritage.
5. “Abenaki Deniers”. I know a few of these, people who acknowledge that they have Abenaki blood but are crude and racist in nature.
6. “Wannabes” can apply to the three groups mentioned above (El-Nu, Koasek and Nulhegan) because even though they claim a great deal of native spiritual knowledge, they live in an age where anyone can look up stuff on the internet, come up with a group structure and apply for incorporation. The Clan of the Hawk also fits this mode, though they are somewhat honest about their actual mission (to a degree). Another group that could fit here is Mazipskwik.
The timeline of this film falls before the formation of the “Abenaki Alliance.” I personally have no idea why Fred decided that it was important to prop up these groups. One theory is that he had a falling out with April Merrill and the St.Francis band, which possibly lead him to find another group(s) that he could exploit. He found three and that explains the current “Abenaki Alliance.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure that on the surface, Fred M. Wiseman is a nice guy. I just think that he’s spent too much time at the tribal headquarters and not enough time in an actual classroom. Someone with a PH.D should not be using Wikipedia as a resource. That just sets off alarm bells.
I could read the rest of this document but I know exactly what to expect out of Mr.Wiseman.
Vermont Native Justice 