ODANAK, Quebec (WCAX) – Abenaki leaders in Quebec on Friday presented new genealogical research they say disproves claims of Abenaki heritage among prominent tribal leaders in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Using genealogy, the research commissioned by the Abenaki of Odanak and W8linak refuels a years-long debate claiming Vermont tribes are “race shifting” and cannot prove any ties to Abenaki heritage.
Nestled on more than 1,700 acres of land in Quebec are more than 2,000 members of the Abenaki of Odanak, embracing their Indigenous roots.
“The people here in this community and in our nation — our blood is strong,” said Chief Rick O’Bomsawin.
But O’Bomsawin said the blood of Vermont Abenakis is not strong. On Friday, he and other tribal leaders presented new information they say disproves links to Abenaki culture in Vermont and New Hampshire. Using thousands of public documents from the 1600s to the 2000s, their research shows the chiefs of the Abenaki bands in Vermont and New Hampshire are white Franco Americans and have no Abenaki ancestry whatsoever.
“This appropriation of our history is a deep wound and denies the lived experience of those who suffered so we could be here today,” said Deny O’Bomsawin of the Abenaki of Odanak.
One of the people they claim is not Indigenous is Don Stevens, chief of Vermont’s Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe, who disputes their findings.
“If you’re using their criteria, you have to be connected with Odanak. My fourth or fifth great-grandmother was born at Saint-François-du-Lac, which is on Odanak. So, I don’t care what they say. They may not like it, I’m a recognized Abenaki Indian. They have no authority over us,” Stevens said.
Stevens believes there’s an ulterior motive to Canadian actions, calling the report propaganda. “They’re down here trying to get a land claim eventually against the State of Vermont. So that way they can try to expand their territory – and they can’t do that while we exist,” he said.
O’Bomsawin said he has not had the chance to present their findings to the Abenaki people of Vermont. While he said many in the region have done good work, he asks that they not do it in what he says is their name.
