By Guy Page

Nulhegan Abenaki Chief Don Stevens is pushing back against Canadian Abenaki tribes questioning the identity of Vermont’s state-recognized Abenaki tribes, arguing the real issue is not who the “real Abenakis” are, but why Canadian Abenaki tribes are challenging Vermont tribes now.

“The title of this piece is misguided,” Stevens wrote in an online comment to the VDC news story by Timothy Page headlined “Who are the REAL Abenaki?”. “Who are the real Abenaki is not the question because traditionally there were almost 20 Abenaki Tribes or ‘family bands’ that lived throughout our Western Abenaki Territory.”

Stevens said the dispute is driven by potential financial interests tied to land claims and natural resources.

“The real question is, ‘Why are the Canadian Tribes attacking Vermont Tribes now?’ It is easy to understand why; it is potential money and resources,” he said.

Stevens pointed to documents posted on the Abenaki Alliance website that he says show lawyers representing the Odanak First Nation in Quebec concluded in 1997 that Vermont tribes could complicate any future land claims in the United States.

According to Stevens, Odanak and the related Wolinak First Nation recently received a Canadian land claims settlement worth more than $300 million and are now focusing attention on Vermont. He also linked the controversy to Hydro-Québec’s 2022 acquisition of 13 New England hydroelectric dams, arguing that Canadian Indigenous communities receive compensation for projects crossing their territories.

Stevens said similar arrangements have occurred elsewhere, citing a recent power agreement involving Canadian Mohawk communities and New York.

He also defended his own genealogy and the Nulhegan Band’s claims to Abenaki ancestry, saying documentation supporting his family history has long been available on his personal website. Stevens criticized research by Canadian academic Darryl Leroux, whose work has questioned the ancestry claims of many people identifying as Indigenous in eastern Canada and New England.

Stevens asserted that Leroux’s research is flawed and noted the scholar was recently found liable for defamation in a Canadian court, although he did not provide additional details.

Stevens said Vermont’s Abenaki tribes have no objection to Odanak or Wolinak members sharing their culture in the United States.

“We have no issue with Odanak or Wolinak teaching their lived experiences in the U.S. We have no issue with them promoting their cultural practices,” Stevens wrote. “The only issue we have is that they are trying to take control of everything, which is neither acceptable nor traditional practices.”

He added, “We are not claiming to be Odanak Abenaki and don’t want to be. We are Nulhegan Abenaki and will continue to celebrate who we are as a people.”

Stevens also emphasized that the Nulhegan Band and Vermont’s other state-recognized tribes have what he described as a federal settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior recognizing the tribe and his role as chief. He acknowledged that the agreement does not constitute full federal recognition, which carries broader legal status and eligibility for federal tribal programs.

The dispute over the identity and recognition of Vermont’s Abenaki communities has been the subject of years of debate involving Vermont’s state-recognized tribes, First Nations in Quebec, historians and genealogists. 

Critics have argued that Vermont’s tribes lack sufficient historical and genealogical evidence of continuous Indigenous community, while Vermont tribal leaders maintain they are descendants of Western Abenaki families who remained in the region despite centuries of displacement and assimilation.