Vermont H. 614: An act relating to the sale and use of fireworks

Bill Text

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H.614 1
Introduced by Representatives Headrick of Burlington, Greer of Bennington, 2
and Wells of Brownington 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Education; courses of study; Indigenous history curricula 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require 7
supervisory unions; school districts; approved independent schools receiving 8
public funds; or any museum, historical society, or other cultural or 9
educational institution that receives school groups to engage in consultation 10
with and obtain written endorsement from each of the Odanak and Wôlinak 11
First Nations in order to utilize or present materials addressing the Indigenous 12
history or culture of the land now called Vermont. 13
An act relating to the consultation and endorsement by the Abenaki First 14
Nations of Odanak and Wôlinak in the development of Indigenous history 15
and culture curricula 16
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 17
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 18
The General Assembly finds that: 19
(1) The peoples of the Abenaki First Nation of Odanak and the Abenaki 20
First Nation of Wôlinak are descendant communities of the Western Abenaki, 21

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whose ancestral homeland encompassed the territory now known as Vermont, 1
New Hampshire, and the adjacent regions of southern Québec. 2
(2) Archaeological, ethnohistorical, and linguistic scholarship locate the 3
Indigenous territory of the Western Abenaki in the Champlain Valley, 4
Connecticut River Basin, and adjoining lands, and recognize the movement 5
and consolidation of those peoples into the villages of Odanak and Wôlinak in 6
the early 18th century. 7
(3) The international instrument United Nations Declaration on the 8
Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted on September 23, 2007, 9
articulates that Indigenous Peoples have the right to participate in decision-10
making in matters that affect them and to maintain and strengthen their 11
institutions, cultures, traditions, and languages. 12
(4) Article 19 of UNDRIP provides that states shall “consult and 13
cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned ... in order to 14
obtain their free, prior and informed consent” before adopting legislative or 15
administrative measures that may affect them. 16
(5) Article 36(1) of UNDRIP recognizes that Indigenous Peoples, 17
especially those divided by international or other borders, have the right to 18
maintain and develop contacts, relations, and cooperation, including for 19
cultural, political, social, and economic purposes. 20

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(6) Article 14 of UNDRIP affirms that Indigenous Peoples have the 1
right to establish and control educational systems and institutions that reflect 2
their cultural methods of teaching and learning, and that states shall, in 3
conjunction with Indigenous Peoples, take effective measures to ensure that 4
Indigenous children have access to an education in their own culture and 5
language. 6
(7) Article 14 further recognizes that education concerning Indigenous 7
Peoples must be developed in cooperation with them, ensuring accuracy, 8
cultural integrity, and respect for Indigenous knowledge and identity. 9
Curriculum that addresses the history of the Abenaki people therefore directly 10
implicates the rights of the Abenaki First Nations of Odanak and Wôlinak. 11
(8) Article 31 of UNDRIP affirms that Indigenous Peoples have the 12
right to maintain, control, protect, and develop their cultural heritage, 13
traditional knowledge, and cultural expressions, including historical narratives, 14
oral traditions, and understandings of ancestral lands. 15
(9) Article 31 further provides that states shall take effective measures, 16
in conjunction with Indigenous Peoples, to recognize and protect the exercise 17
of these rights. Because educational curricula constitute one of the primary 18
vehicles through which cultural heritage and historical knowledge are 19
transmitted, the development and approval of curricula concerning the 20
Indigenous history of the land now called Vermont necessarily requires 21

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meaningful participation and endorsement from the actual Abenaki Nations, 1
whose heritage is being taught. 2
(10) Taken together, Articles 14, 19, 31, and 36 of UNDRIP establish 3
that states must collaborate with Indigenous Peoples in good faith; obtain their 4
free, prior, and informed consent when policies affect them; recognize their 5
authority over their own historical and cultural narratives; and respect their 6
inherent rights across international borders. Curriculum concerning Abenaki 7
history and culture falls squarely within these obligations. 8
(11) Historical and archaeological scholarship does not support a 9
distinction between “Cana