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The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is one of four state-recognized tribes in Vermont,[5] who claim descent from Abenaki people. The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe specifically claims descent from the Missiquoi people.
| Named after | Missisquoi people, Abenaki people |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2015[2] |
| Type | state-recognized tribe, nonprofit organizations |
| EIN 47-3962858[2] | |
| Legal status | mental health organization, substance abuse program, charity[2] |
| Purpose | F20: Alcohol, Drug, and Substance Abuse, Dependency Prevention and Treatment[2] |
| Location | |
Official language | English |
Chief | Brenda Gagne[3] |
| Revenue | $116,856[2] (2018) |
| Expenses | $126,720[2] (2018) |
| Funding | grants, contributions, program services[2] |
| Website | abenakination |
Formerly called | St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi[4] |
They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe.[5] Vermont has no federally recognized tribes.[5]
The chief of the Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is Brenda Gagne.[3]
The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is also known as the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi. They have also gone by the name St. Francis-Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, the Abenaki Tribal Council of Missisquoi, and the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi.[4]
Vermont recognized the Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe as 2012.[6][7] The other state-recognized tribes in Vermont are the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, Elnu Abenaki Tribe, and the Koasek Abenaki Tribe.[5]
In 2015, the group created Maquam Bay of Missisquoi, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, based in Swanton, Vermont.[1][2] Their registered agent is Richard Mendard.[8]
Their mission is "To promote wellness in the Abenaki community through holistic approaches that integrate health, education, and the environment."[2]
The Maquam Bay of Missisquoi board of directors are:
- April Lapan, treasurer
- Brian Barratt, director
- John Lavoie, director
- Holly Lafrance, director and secretary
- John Lavoie, secretary
- Chris Lafrance, director
- Cody Hemenway, director
- Arthur Blackhawk, director..[8]
The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is the only Vermont state-recognized tribe to have petitioned for federal recognition.
Under the name St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont, the group applied for federal recognition first in 1980, then 1992, and finally in 2007.[9] Two of them were denied and one of them was withdrawn due to legal issues with the State of Vermont. The group applied for but was denied federal recognition as a Native American tribe in 2007.[10] The summary of the proposed finding (PF) stated that "The SSA petitioner claims to have descended as a group mainly from a Western Abenaki Indian tribe, most specifically, the Missisquoi Indians" and went on to state: "However, the available evidence does not demonstrate that the petitioner or its claimed ancestors descended from the St. Francis Indians of Quebec, a Missiquoi Abenaki entity in Vermont, any other Western Abenaki group, or an Indian entity from New England or Canada. Instead, the PF concluded that the petitioner is a collection of individuals of claimed but undemonstrated Indian ancestry 'with little or no social or historical connection with each other before the early 1970's'...."[11]
The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is one of four state-recognized tribes in Vermont. It had 60 members in 2016.[12]
St. Mary's University associate professor Darryl Leroux's genealogical and historical research found that the members of this and the other three state-recognized tribes in Vermont were composed primarily of "French descendants who have used long-ago ancestry in New France to shift into an 'Abenaki' identity."[6]
In 2002, the State of Vermont reported that the Abenaki people had migrated north to Quebec by the end of the 17th century.[13]
The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe participates in Abenaki Heritage Weekend, held at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont.[14]
The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe maintained a USDA food shelf for the local community and held a BIPOC COVID-19 vaccine clinic in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed]
Vermont H.556, "An act relating to exempting property owned by Vermont-recognized Native American tribes from property tax," passed on April 20, 2022.[15]
- State v. Elliott, 616 A.2d 210 (Vt. 1992), Vermont Supreme Court decision
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