'Someone's starting to listen,' says Abenaki chief, applauding defeat of New Hampshire bill

The chief of the Abenaki of Odanak is celebrating a victory in his nation's campaign against state-recognized tribes in New England, many of which he says are illegitimate.

In a news release, Rick O'Bomsawin says a New Hampshire bill — which lawmakers killed last month — would have given too much power to what he calls "self-proclaimed" Abenaki groups in Vermont.

"I think someone's starting to listen," he said.

The Abenaki of Odanak and W8linak say four Abenaki tribes recognized in Vermont are among those that are not really Abenaki, yet state law permits them to sell artwork, access funding for social programs and receive free hunting and fishing licences.

Leaders in Quebec took identity fraud concerns to the United Nations last year.

But more recently, Bill 161, titled "Changing the membership of the New Hampshire commission on Native American affairs," would have extended the groups' influence in New Hampshire, says O'Bomsawin.

"I think New Hampshire was watching what's going on and saying, 'oh, before we get into this mess, let's stop this right in the beginning,'" he said.

Odanak and W8linak, located near Trois-Rivières, Que., have historically clashed with groups in the U.S. regarding legitimacy. O'Bomsawin and some researchers contend that many of the Vermont-recognized Abenaki groups aren't Indigenous at all.

Attempt to put in place state-recognized process

Darryl Leroux says these New England groups have refused to do verification "that they're well able to do."

An associate professor in the school of political studies at the University of Ottawa who has studied transformations in white identities and settler colonialism, Leroux found that the majority of members of the tribes had no Abenaki ancestry, but rather are descendants from French-Canadian immigrants.

He published his findings in a peer-reviewed article "State Recognition and the Dangers of Race Shifting" in the American Indian Culture and Research Journal in 2023. The genealogy has not been independently verified by CBC News.

"They've chosen to believe the family lore," said Leroux. "One's responsibility when it makes these types of claims is [at] the very least to verify the claims."

He says states can establish their own process to recognize tribes, often for "political reasons." Currently, New Hampshire has no state recognition process.

"This bill was trying to put [one] in place," said Leroux.

To get U.S. federal status, groups, also known as tribes, must demonstrate compliance with seven mandatory criteria, including a continuous history as an American Indian entity since 1900. In 2005, one of the four Vermont-recognized groups, the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, failed to meet some criteria.

Donald Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation in Vermont, says his tribe hasn't felt the need to seek federal recognition.

"It's not because we can't or don't want to," said Stevens, whose tribe is recognized in Vermont. "It costs a lot of money and a lot of time."

Stevens supported Bill 161 in New Hampshire because he saw it as a means to help "consolidate," better represent interests and help set up ways to establish recognition processes in New Hampshire, if desired.

He says every tribe has the right to determine their own citizenship and contests Leroux's findings. He says his family is "well documented as being Indian and being gypsies who travelled from place to place."

"It's sad when people are trying to put out false narratives," he said.

But many of these state-recognized groups would never qualify for federal recognition, says Kim TallBear, professor in the faculty of Native studies at the University of Alberta.

"It is a very rigorous process," said TallBear, who is also the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience, and Society.

'A real serious form of theft'

A citizen of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate in present day South Dakota, TallBear says state-recognition standards are "pretty appalling." She's among those saying something needs to change.

"We're really advocating that states get out of the business of doing this," she says.

"Leave this to nation-to-nation conversations, which are between tribal governments and the federal government."

While TallBear says "pretendianism" can sometimes be put on the back burner, there's been recognition that it's a growing problem — as some groups misrepresent and overshadow history.

"Those groups now are vying with recognized tribal groups for resources and recognition," she said.

"I'm seeing the tide turning … we are making progress in terms of getting people to understand that this is a real serious form of theft."

Chief in Odanak denounces exclusion

Due to colonization and war, Abenaki were forced north of their homelands and settled in what is now Odanak and W8linak.

Right now, O'Bomsawin says self-identified groups in the U.S. outnumber his community and live on the ancestral territory which stretches from southern Quebec to northern Massachusetts, spanning Vermont and New Hampshire.

Despite its ties to the region, O'Bomsawin's community does not have a say over membership regulations or requirements of groups that bear its name and live in areas it considers traditional territory.

"They never even contacted us on anything," said O'Bomsawin.

"If you are truly, truly Abenaki, would you not want to fight to make sure no one is stealing your culture and your language? Would you not want to know who your family members are? That's all I'm trying to do," he said.

What particularly hurts is not having recognition in the States, despite being federally recognized in Canada, he says.

"Not only do you want to steal my identity … but you also want to steal my pain," said O'Bomsawin. "And that's really sad."