Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe,
Maquam Bay of Missisquoi, Inc.[1]
Named afterMissisquoi people, Abenaki people
Formation2015[2]
Typestate-recognized tribe, nonprofit organizations
EIN 47-3962858[2]
Legal statusmental health organization, substance abuse program, charity[2]
PurposeF20: Alcohol, Drug, and Substance Abuse, Dependency Prevention and Treatment[2]
Location
Official language
English
Chief
Joanne Crawford[3]
Revenue (2018)
$116,856[2]
Expenses (2018)$126,720[2]
Fundinggrants, contributions, program services[2]
Websiteabenakination.com
Formerly called
St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi[4]

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.

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 Joanne Crawford.[3]

Name

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]

State recognition

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]

Nonprofit organization

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]

Petitions for federal recognition

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]

Heritage

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]

Activities

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.

Property tax

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]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Maquam Bay of Missisquoi Inc". GuideStar. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Maquam Bay of Missisquoi". Cause IQ. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Cam (March 1, 2023). "Abenaki tribe defends use of Swanton high school mascot". WCAX. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 "St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi St. Francis/Sokoki Band of the Sovereign Republic of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi (state recognized, Vermont)". National Indian Law Library. Native American Rights Fund. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Federal and State Recognized Tribes". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 Darryl Leroux, Distorted Descent, page 246.
  7. ↑ "State Recognized Tribes | Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs". Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Maquam Bay of Missisquoi, INC". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Toensing, Gale Corey (2007). "BIA denies Abenaki recognition".
  10. ↑ "Petitioner #068: St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont, VT". Indian Affairs. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  11. ↑ Summary under the Criteria and Evidence for Final Determination against Federal Acknowledgment of the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont (PDF). Washington, DC: Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. 22 June 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  12. ↑ Evancie, Angela (November 4, 2016). "Abenaki Native Americans In Vermont Today?". Brave Little State. Vermont Public News. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Dillon, John (20 March 2002). "State Says Abenaki Do Not Have "Continuous Presence"". Vermont Public Radio. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "2019 Abenaki Heritage Weekend". Crazy Crow. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "H.556". Vermont General Assembly. Retrieved 10 May 2022.

References

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