By VDC staff

One person was taken into custody after a dispute broke out at a private Burlington event focused on Abenaki heritage, according to WCAX News.

The gathering, organized by Rep. Troy Headrick, I-Burlington, and members of Quebec’s Odanak First Nation, included UVM researchers and students. Headrick said members of the state-recognized Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi arrived after learning about the invitation-only event.

Headrick told WCAX that one person shoved him backward and verbally threatened him. Police responded and removed people from the property. The Abenaki Council of Odanak said one person was arrested and later released, although police had not confirmed the arrest to WCAX.

The incident comes amid a dispute over Vermont’s recognition of four Abenaki tribes. Odanak leaders and some Vermont researchers contend genealogical evidence does not support the groups’ claims of Abenaki ancestry. Vermont’s state-recognized tribes dispute challenges to their identity.

Headrick has proposed creating a state task force to review Vermont’s tribal recognition process, but the legislation has not advanced. WCAX said Missisquoi leaders did not respond to requests for comment.