Vermont JRH 4: Joint resolution reaffirming support for the legislatively recognized Native American Indian tribes and bands of Vermont

Bill Text

State of Vermont
House of Representatives
Montpelier, Vermont
Joint House Resolution
J.R.H. 4
Offered by Representatives Branagan of Georgia, Logan of Burlington, and Mrowicki of
Putney
Joint resolution reaffirming support for the legislatively recognized Native American Indian
tribes and bands of Vermont
Whereas, in 1 V.S.A. § 851(1), the General Assembly found that “[a]t least 1,700 Vermonters
claim to be direct descendants of the several indigenous Native American peoples, now known
as Western Abenaki tribes, who originally inhabited all of Vermont and New Hampshire, parts of
western Maine, parts of southern Quebec, and parts of upstate New York for hundreds of years,
beginning long before the arrival of Europeans,” and
Whereas, in 1 V.S.A. § 851(2), the General Assembly also found “ample archeological
evidence that demonstrates that the Missisquoi and Cowasuck Abenaki were indigenous to and
farmed the river floodplains of Vermont at least as far back as the 1100s A.D.,” and
Whereas, in 1 V.S.A. § 851(3), the General Assembly further found that the “Western
Abenaki, including the Missisquoi, have a very definite and carefully maintained oral tradition
that consistently references the Champlain [V]alley in western Vermont,” and
Whereas, 1 V.S.A. § 852(a) establishes the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs
“to recognize the historic and cultural contributions of Native Americans to Vermont,” and in 1
V.S.A. § 853(c) created a set of criteria for future State recognition of Native American Indian
tribes and bands, and
Whereas, to date, the General Assembly has extended State recognition to the Elnu Abenaki
tribe (1 V.S.A. § 853a), the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation (1 V.S.A. § 854), the
Koasek Abenaki of the Koas (1 V.S.A. § 855), and the Missisquoi, St. Francis-Sokoki band (1
V.S.A. § 856), now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly reaffirms its support for the legislatively recognized Native
American Indian tribes and bands of Vermont, their geological legitimacy, and the system
established in 1 V.S.A. chapter 23 for extending future State recognition of Native American
Indian tribes and bands, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the
Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs.