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Vermont Indian Commission Chair provides final perspective
Charles Delaney-Megeso
May 20, 2010

Kwai Kwai Nidobak! (Greetings, Friends!)

I owe gici oliwni (great thanks) to everyone who helped make my tenure as a Member and then the Chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (VCNAA) as productive as I was able to make it. In particular, while the counsel and comfort I received at low points was deeply appreciated, the constructive criticism I received when I made mistakes was even more helpful in my efforts.

In my role as Commissioner, I have done my best to promote and practice a fair, open, and democratic process. This has always been my approach, and I believe that this played a part in Governor Jim Douglas appointing me to the VCNAA and then to the lead role as Chair.

As I said after that promotion, I did my best to “create a door so other people can walk through it.” I also noted: “If the bands get recognition and the Commission gets empowered, then I’ve done my job.”

I have pursued these goals over the decades of my work for N’dakinna (Vermont) Native Peoples. I and many others were very upset that S.117 didn’t pass the muster of the Arts and Crafts Board of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The minimal acknowledgement of Abenaki as Native Americans that the 2006 bill granted was only half a loaf.

This year’s work on S.222 has, I hope, given us another quarter of a loaf and gotten us that much closer to what we need and rightfully deserve as Indians. Although this law still leaves much work to be done, it does give N’dakinna’s aboriginal Peoples a clear process for gaining recognition, something the previous law did not.

It seems clear from what I’ve seen and heard that there is a great deal of energy and perseverance from both the State of Vermont and her Natives that the holes will be filled in a thoughtful and thorough way.

Likewise, as new people apply to reform the Native Affairs Commission, I hope that they are chosen for their dedication and driving vision to better all aspects of Vermont Indians’ lives. I believe that it is crucial that the incoming Commissioners want to help heal wounds and dysfunctions in the Native community.

To be strong Peoples, we must stand up for each other and not pursue deep-seated acrimony and vendettas. When we do this, we play perfectly into the wishes of those who would keep us from our just rights. Getting us to betray and denounce our relations fractures us into smaller and smaller, often isolated, groups that are more easily manipulated.

An illustration of this is the example of what drew me back into Abenaki activism. In 2008, out of the blue, and two years after S.117 passed and I retired from the political scene, I got a call from the BIA’s Arts and Crafts Board. The lawyer on the other end of the line wanted me to give up the names and other information of Vermont Abenaki craftspeople. He was after Abenaki individuals he could add to his prosecution list for creating crafts that in any way identified as Indian.

At that time, another Indian recognition bill, S.369, was being considered in the Legislature. This was meant to fix the problems of S.117, particularly the BIA decision that it did not pass muster for arts and crafts laws.

I told the BIA representative that I thought it highly inappropriate for the federal government to be antagonizing the situation while our State was doing its best to remedy the problem. I also told him that there was no way I was giving him names and that if he wanted to pursue the matter, he needed a court order.

Immediately, I let the VCNAA know about the incident, and slowly I let my work for my fellow Natives expand to include politics again. The trust people invested in me as I walked the path from there to here humbles me. I hope that what I have been able to give back was worthy of that support.

In order to enable the Native American Commission to have a new, level playing field, I encouraged wording in S.222 to bring about the needed change of the sitting Commission. One has power by giving it away.

When the new Members pick up the torch of the VCNAA’s work, I hope that there are many young people as well as Elders. Including people from around the State and from different groups is also important. In this way, we would have the intrepid go-to-it-tiveness of the up and coming generation, most of whose lives are still in the future. We would have the wisdom and long view of the Old Ones who have seen many things, including the need to live in a way that is healthy and sustainable unto the Seventh Generation. And we would hear the voices of the many varied cultures of our Peoples and places. Many new voices can make for better conversation.

As for myself, although I now leave as your Chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, I hope to continue working with all of you for a better day for all indigenous Peoples. I will also continue my long-standing role as a representative and activist for the Moskitia Communitarian Nation on Central America’s Atlantic Coast; and I will remain a participant, as I am able, with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.

Again, oliwni (thank you) for this opportunity to serve you, and get to know so many of you so much better.