In this narrative, the Abenaki were (and still are) viewed as ‘borderland people.’ Because they traditionally lived on and around the United States-Canada border, neither country acknowledged the presence of the Abenaki on the land that was within their border. Such “white interpretation privilege” stems from one sided history dating back to and before the colonization of the Americas. It has long been believed by dominant settler culture that the Abenaki are a people of the past, that they no longer call N’Dakinna (land in and around the state of Vermont) home but have migrated elsewhere or simply dissipated out of existence. Frederick Wiseman, artist Carol McGranaghan, and others working to preserve Abenaki culture and fight against the continuous oppression of Indigenous people. This paper is a culmination of what I have learned from Abenaki individuals including Chief Don Stevens, Roger Longtoe Sheehan, Dr. I have never been forced to hide my ethnicity or heritage for fear of my life.

My family and ancestors have not been subject to hundreds of years of oppression. I will begin by acknowledging that, as a non-indigenous white person, I am not speaking for or on behalf of the Western Abenaki or any other Indigenous community. In writing this history, I emphasize the survivance of the Abenaki, and not the ways in which they were oppressed. The intention of this paper is to provide a history of the Abenaki people as they fight back against erasure in their journey for legal recognition by the state of Vermont.

Vermont abenaki ancient glyphs