Adyn Summer Pipoly: Respect the Process, Honor the People
“Recognition must be shaped by the people and communities who live in Vermont, not by foreign authorities or those seeking to rewrite settled state law.” Full text below -This commentary is by Adyn Summer Pipoly, a law student at Vermont Law & Graduate School focused on restorative justice, food systems and human rights.
Read the full commentary published in VTDigger, Nov. 21, 2025
*****
I want to start by saying that I am not an expert on Native history or Indigenous culture. I am an ally and an advocate.
My goal is not to speak for anyone, but to stand with those whose voices are being overshadowed in this conversation.
At first glance, Vermont’s House Bill H.362 sounds like a step toward protecting Indigenous identity — a trap I admittedly fell for. But in function, H.362 does quite the opposite. To understand why, it’s important to look at what H.362 proposes to change, and what it threatens to undo.
What H.362 would change
H.362, introduced by Rep. Troy Headrick — the bill’s sole sponsor — proposes to overhaul Vermont’s process for recognizing Native communities and overseeing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
H.362 would:
Retroactively re-examine Native communities already recognized under existing law;
Add new genealogical verification requirements;
Create multiple oversight bodies and “expert” panels; and
Mandate consultation with the Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations: sovereign Nations that share geography with Quebec, Canada.
On paper, these provisions claim to promote transparency. In practice, H.362 invites extra-jurisdictional and adversarial influence into Vermont’s domestic policy and erodes trust in the state’s settled recognition process that evolved through collaboration and consensus.
What H.362 threatens to undo
Fifteen years ago, Vermont passed Act 107, the law that formalized how the state recognizes Native communities, and created the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs.
Act 107 was the product of public dialogue, bipartisan cooperation and input from both Native and non-Native Vermonters, alike. Multiple co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle crafted Act 107 as a good-faith effort to bring clarity, accountability and respect to state recognition.
That framework became settled law in 2010.
Now, H.362 attempts to reopen that settled process. If passed, H.362 would not only duplicate the safeguards Act 107 already provides, but would also embed international consultation into Vermont statute.
That’s not reform. That’s destabilization.
State recognition decisions must remain in Vermont. Allowing a legislator to lobby the interests of a First Nation located outside of U.S. jurisdiction in Vermont’s legislative process blurs constitutional lines and undermines the principles of state sovereignty.
Federal recognition vs. state recognition
Part of the confusion around this debate comes from misunderstanding what “recognition” means.
Federal recognition creates a government-to-government relationship between a Native community and the United States, granting sovereign status and eligibility to participate in federal programs.
State recognition, on the other hand, operates within a state’s borders. State recognition acknowledges Indigenous communities that live within the state’s borders and ensures inclusion in education, culture, and policy.
By inviting Canadian First Nations into Vermont’s recognition process, H.362 collapses that boundary and transforms a state-level cultural acknowledgement into an international affair. Vermont cannot legislate through consultation with sovereign entities outside of United States jurisdiction.
Doing so risks violating the Foreign Affairs Clause and the Indian Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which reserve such relations to the federal government.
The colonial framework of “legitimacy”
But the issue runs deeper than just legal mechanics. H.362 perpetuates a colonial framework; one rooted in the federal government’s obsession with “legitimacy” and definition.
The idea that identity must be proven through paperwork or verified by outside authorities is a framework created by colonization itself. It defines what something is, by what something is not — who belongs, and who does not — through systems that Indigenous cultures never built and often run directly counter to Indigenous ways of knowing and belonging.
By emphasizing external verification over community continuity, H.362 revives that colonial logic under the guise of reform. It tells Indigenous communities that share geography with Vermont that their identities remain subject to external judgement — precisely what Act 107 sought to move beyond.
Why this matters
Act 107 represents the best of Vermont’s legislative character: collaborative, bipartisan, and inclusive.
H.362 disturbs that by replacing collaboration with suspicion, stability with confusion, and consensus with unilateral influence.
Vermonters deserve laws that unite, not divide — especially now when social division is so highly contagious. Recognition must be shaped by the people and communities who live in Vermont, not by foreign authorities or those seeking to rewrite settled state law.
A Call to Action
Let’s honor the process that was built together and protect a recognition framework that reflects Vermont’s values: truth, respect and self-determination.
Because unity — not division — is what moves Vermont forward.
Vote NO on H.362 and keep Act 107 strong.