The St. Francis/Sokoki Band seeks official recognition by both the State of Vermont and the United States Government. We have several important reasons for doing so:
1. First and foremost, we have the right to be who we are. Recognition is simply the acknowledgement of our legitimacy by representatives of the state and federal governments.
2. Recognition will open educational opportunities for our children through access to grants. Because we firmly believe we must live for our children up to seven generations, this reason strongly motivates us.
3. Recognition will bring economic development opportunities that will in turn lead to self-sufficiency for more families.
4. Recognition will provide us with more leverage for pursuing the return of ancestral lands. We cannot be separate from our land. This is where the Creator placed us. Food and medicines given to us are from the land. When walking on the land, we walk on the face of our children for seven generations.
5. Recognition will help us maintain our hunting and fishing rights: Given this place to take what we need to survive. The Abenaki have lived a subsistence-based lifestyle since the beginning, over 10,000 years ago. We were given this place so we could take what we need to survive. Our rights to a subsistence lifestyle only became a legal issue in the last 30 years. With regards to hunting and fishing rights, Abenaki seek to have acknowledged what has always been true.
6. Recognition will make certain political processes easier. For example, it would expedite negotiations with state or federal governments, and it would reduce by half the time it takes to maneuver through the Native American Grave Protection & Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
7. Recognition would help validate many overlooked aspects of our history. For example, colonial leaders acknowledged that many Abenaki fought for American independence during the American Revolution by guaranteeing to us the rights to our homeland, especially the Swanton and Highgate areas.
On Thanksgiving Day in 1976, Governor Thomas Salmon issued an executive order providing state recognition to the St. Francis/Sokoki Band. Governor Richard Snelling who followed and was of a more conservative bent revoked that recognition. Renewed recognition by the State of Vermont (S.117) passed and signed into law May 3rd, 2006.
Application for federal recognition was denied. However, the final decision is still pending.
States Attorney Response to our Federal Application, please see States Attorney Report.
BIA Federal application decision, please see BIA Decision.
This website was funded through a Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.