Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe

This article is about the state-recognized tribe in Vermont. For the historic Abenaki people, see Missiquoi.

The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is one of four state-recognized tribes in Vermont,^[5] who claim descent from the Abenaki people. The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe specifically claims descent from the Missiquoi people.

Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe,
Maquam Bay of Missisquoi, Inc.^[1]

Named after	Missisquoi people, Abenaki people
Formation	2015[2]
Type	state-recognized tribe, nonprofit organizations
Tax ID no.	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	Swanton, Vermont[1], United States
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.com
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 Odanak First Nation in Quebec regard it as a fraudulent organization.^[6]

The chief of the Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is Brenda Gagne.^[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.^[7][8] 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.^[9]

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..^[9]

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.^[10] 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.^[11] 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'...."^[12]

Heritage

The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe is one of four state-recognized tribes in Vermont. It had 60 members in 2016.^[13]

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."^[7]

In 2002, the State of Vermont reported that the Abenaki people had migrated north to Quebec by the end of the 17th century.^[14]

Activities

The Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe participates in Abenaki Heritage Weekend, held at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont.^[15]

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]}

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.^[16]

See also

• State v. Elliott, 616 A.2d 210 (Vt. 1992), Vermont Supreme Court decision