Ms. Gagne - Disturbing Behavior from a Self-Identified Abenaki Woman

It is astounding that Ms. Gagne and Ms. Hook, white European women with absolutely no historical connection to the Abenaki Nation people, attempt to demonize one of our most treasured and talented citizens, Mali Obomsawin.

As was plain from Seven Days coverage, Ms. Obomsawin is a passionate defender of Indigenous rights with a degree from Dartmouth. And she is an extremely talented musician.  I have seen her play live – a moving experience! She contributes to the growth and well-being of our people in our ancient territory.

What contribution does Ms. Gagne make to her community? Teaching kids to sneak into the back of a ballroom to attend a scholarly event in April? Why did both Mr. Gagne and Mr. Holschuh think devising a plan to disregard registering to attend, sneaking in with children in tow after the registration table and and everyone who registered came into the event, lights went down for the Akwesasne Women Singers (AWS) started singing, this group snuck into the back seats, ignoring the rules to attend that every other adult abided by? Why not register? What was this group of people, with Richard Holschuh, children in tow attempting to subvert?  Interrupting when a speaker used an expletive? Lurking when it ended like she wasn’t sure what to do next to disrupt the speakers? Did the children she dressed up and brought to UVM that day understand what the program was all about?

I watched has they came in after lights went down, drumming upfront looking into the crowd with the AWS along with Mali O'Bomsawin in total disbelieve. This one action told me all I needed to know about there intentions and character.

Ms. Gagne tells a good story, I will give her that. I know the young Penobscot man who respectfully went to the back to speak separately with the “adults” and witnessed his actions and theirs.

Both Ms. Gagne and Ms. Hook hope to draw our attention away from their lack of Abenaki genealogy, but that is the issue. If they’d paid attention in April, they would have learned how Pretendians pose a problem to Indigenous people and universities across North America.

Obviously, Ms. Gagne did not attend secretly and slid into the event after the security and registration tables closed nor did she intend to listen to scholars invited to speak at UVM. The scholars did NOT once speak about self-identified Abenaki VT groups specifically, but to educate about the threat of "pretend-Indians" are to sovereign First Nations.

Last word: Indigenous people DO NOT dress in regalia (the self identified had on what I would consider "costumes") for a scholar event, bring "drums", children who would be bored, sneak into a registered event at a college purposely without registering, use children for their newspaper article to come later, all of this charade was a plan for newspapers and the cameras. Nice try though...

Denise Watso

Citizen of Abenaki Nation

A Federally Recognized Nation 

Another letter and another set of vague platitudes from the “Abenaki Alliance.”

FYI-Hyperlinks in blue take the reader to the relevant websites/articles

They “believe that communities are stronger when they are inclusive, respect differences, and honor a variety of lived experiences.”  That’s wonderful, but the inclusion they call for is one where no questions are asked.  Questions like “How does the Vermont Attorney General, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, New Hampshire Public Radio, and sociologist Darryl Leroux find that the vast majority of your members have no Indigenous ancestors?”

The “Alliance” avoids the tough questions by invoking their Vermont state recognition.  As if that ends the discussion.  However, that law is something that the Odanak First Nation has been disputing for over a decade.  The process has been inadequate and riddled with conflicts of interest.  It must be repealed.

And it must be understood by Vermont leaders such as UVM Provost Prelock.  The law establishes the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and the state recognition process.  It does not mandate that state agencies, universities, or others accept the stories being told by self-identified and state-recognized “Abenaki,” let alone invite them to consult as Indigenous representatives or tradition bearers.

Finally, the “Alliance” claims “shared heritage, family origins, and cultural traditions” with the Abenaki of the Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations.  This can’t be true.  The “Alliance” members are by and large strangers to the Abenaki people, not relatives who share family and nation.  It is true that many Abenaki enrolled at Odanak and Wôlinak have Canadian passports but it isn’t clear how Mr. Holschuh and company think this matters to questions of Indigenous rights and Abenaki history.

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day let us all find inspiration to support the true Abenaki people and demand answers from the “Abenaki Alliance.”

Christopher Roy, Ph.D.

Philadelphia, PA

October 9, 2023