In 1973, excavators digging a cellar hole on Monument Road along the Missisquoi River in Swanton discovered over a period of months the remains of 88 bodies, the bodies of our ancestors. Some were buried as early as 885 B.C. Over time as development on Monument Road and at other locations in Vermont continued, more burial sites were disturbed and more remains uncovered.
This ongoing disturbance of Abenaki burial grounds causes great anger and sadness in our community. Donna Roberts Moody, Repatriation and Site-protection Coordinator, expressed it this way, "When someone passes, we believe there's still spirit attached to the bone. It's almost like it's encoded inside us?. We can't work on our future until we take care of the past. The taking of bodies out of the ground has got to stop. I view it as my responsibility to my ancestors and my children and grandchildren and those not born yet (Burlington Free Press, 11/29/00)."
Leading the struggle to stop violation of our ancestors is Chief April St. Francis-Merrill who states, "Enough is enough. How many times do we have to go through this on Monument Road? How many other houses are to be built on burial grounds (Burlington Free Press, 11/29/00)?" April has employed and continues to use many strategies, from blocking traffic to lawsuits to person-to person meetings with neighbors and officials, in her efforts to secure respect for the ancestors, and to get state and local government to accept responsibility for ending these violations.
This website was funded through a Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To review Vermont's Burial Laws, please see Burial Laws.