Some very good news today: The US National Park Service has awarded an Underrepresented Communities Grant (from the Historic Preservation Fund) to the Town of Rockingham, VT (Village of Bellows Falls) for a proposal entitled "Kchi Pôntegok - Revisiting the Historic Landscape of the Bellows Falls Petroglyphs".

The Vermont House voted Wednesday in favor of establishing a state commission to study the history of racism, discrimination and eugenics in Vermont statutes.

H.96, which was approved 109-30 in an initial vote, builds on last year’s Joint House Resolution 2 — a four-page, unanimously supported apology for a 1931 law that legalized eugenics via sterilization in Vermont.

In 2021, the Vermont Legislature issued a long overdue apology for Vermont’s early 20th century state-sanctioned eugenics movement, which targeted Indigenous people and other groups…The apology left unspoken how to undo the harm. Now, a bill in the Vermont House, H.96, proposes that Vermont establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine what happened and possible reparations. This interview catches up with where that process is in the Vermont legislature right now.

Now posted online: the video recording for archaeologist Gail Golec's informative presentation of last Wednesday (02-16-22) entitled "Interpreting Historical Landscapes in the Upper Connecticut River Valley", sponsored by Rockingham Free Public Library and the Rockingham Historic Preservation Commission.

A preview of the soon-to-be-released tribute for the River from Quinetucket LLC. Filmmaker Vince Hogan has crafted a gorgeous hymn to the liquid heart of this landscape.

At the southern end of the Long Trail lies the tallest peak in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock. This mountain was once referred to as Grand Hoosuc or Saddleback by Abenaki people, Elnu Abenaki Tribe public liaison Rich Holschuh writes on the Green Mountain Club website.

The demolition of the former Meeting Waters YMCA building took yet another turn Tuesday night. Representatives from the local Abenaki tribe asked the Rockingham Select Board that no additional excavation be done during the upcoming demolition of the town-owned dilapidated building.

Bellows Falls has several ancient Abenaki burial sites, said Gail Golec, an archaeologist from Walpole, N.H., who appeared before the board with local resident Diana Jones, who said she is an Abenaki descendant.

Original episode aired November 8, 2021 - Filmed on location in Wantastegok with producer Sangita Chandra and videographer Bob Oliver; final cut with Shayna Seymour.

A program from Boston’s WCVB - ABC affiliate, part of the Chronicle Main Streets and Back Roads series.

Another piece of Abenaki history has been reclaimed with the creation of the Sibosen Trail. Pronounced SEE-boo-sehn, which is Abenaki for “river stone,” the trail runs along the West River in what’s known as the Riverstone Preserve, 21 acres of land owned by the Friends of the West River Trail that also includes 2,240 feet of shoreline.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott has re-affirmed the statutory establishment and observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day statewide by Act 18 of 2019, with an Executive Proclamation. The document also cites Act R-114 of 2021 which offers a legislative apology for the state’s complicity in historic eugenics policies, and assures ongoing commitment to equity for Indigenous peoples in the state of Vermont.

Indigenous Peoples Day has been recognized in Brattleboro for years, and a celebration at Retreat Farm holds even more meaning. “This makes it real,” said Rich Holschuh, director of the Atowi Project based at the farm. “People are face to face learning from each other. It’s more than symbolic. It’s lived.”

On Sunday afternoons during September 2021, the Friends of the [Justin] Morrill Homestead in Strafford, VT hosted “The Abenaki Experience: Prehistory to Present,” a speakers’ series designed to foster an understanding of the long and complicated history of the indigenous people of this area.

The Connecticut River Museum will be hosting a day of stories and songs with the Nehantic Native Nation and the Elnu Abenaki Tribe next month. The outdoor event is planned for Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the waterfront lawn at the foot of Main Street.

The following article describes situations and conditions that also exist here in N’dakinna - Abenaki homelands - and the Northeast in general, often with even less oversight and protection, due to a 400-year-deep history of colonization, erasure, and contemporary ignorance. Petroglyph sites, hydroelectric dams, and historic industrialization are graphic demonstrations that you don’t need to look beyond your own familiar landscapes to witness the pattern of usurpation and disregard. It’s all right here, now.

On this episode of Root Words, We talk with Chef Jessee Lawyer, Professor Fred Wiseman, and Chief Don Stevens. And we’ll hear little about the Abenaki community’s connection to this land, game animals, and traditional food ways, and we’ll hear how these living traditions have continued to evolve and grow through contemporary times.

In this episode Moccasin Tracks talks with Anthropology Professor Robert Goodby who is publishing a new book with the help of The Harris Center and Cheshire County Historical Society in New Hampshire. His students from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. have been part of his historical digs and findings.

Daryl Peasley of the Abenaki Trails Project looked around at the crowd and smiled. Peasley, along with Heather Mitchell, director of the Hopkinton Historical Society, combined to sponsor a paddle trip on the Contoocook River to highlight the history of Native American activities along the river.

Cecilia Brooks is an elder of Wolastoqey, Mi'kmaq, Mohawk and Korean ancestry who calls St. Mary's First Nation home. She specializes in traditional plant knowledge.

Brooks grew up in different countries because her dad was in the U.S. military. He was her first teacher of traditional Wolastoqey knowledge, but she got her first taste of foraging from her Korean mom.

Over the years the Connecticut River has been many things for those who have lived along the waterway. When the Abenaki were the only people here the river was used for transportation, trade, cultural gatherings, and food. The river was then known as Wantastegok and native crops were grown along the riverbanks. For the Abenaki the river is much more than recreation and entertainment, it is the basis of indigenous society.

One initiative to help do so at Retreat Farm is the Atowi Project, named for an Abenaki word meaning “together in space and time.” The project, now being formulated, is intended to “establish places for Native voices to be amplified, celebrated, and respected” and “help restore the Native relationship to the land and its inhabitants and communicate these vital perspectives to the broader community.”