A bit quieter time

The last ten days - since my last post - have been a bit quieter than usual. Part of that has been the weather - icy conditions, raw, windy, cold days - good weather for staying home. This has given me the chance to listen to UNC Tarheels Mens' Basketball Games on the radio - and they are on a winning streak - they have won their last seven games, I think. They are undefeated in ACC Coference play. But I have also gone out a bit. I guess the highlights have been (1) A meeting concerning the Abenaki tribes in Vermont; (2) A Session with Holly King for massages; (3) A Guilfod "small choir" sing for Nancy Ragle; (4) A Dummerston Music Committee meeting; (5)some time at the Planet Fitness gym; (6) A session at the Putney Cares Foot Care clinic. The Abenaki Tribe meeting was interesting and unusual. It was held in the Westminster-West Church, and I went with John and Cynthia. I actually got dropped off at their house while Ellen went to Amherst to meet Katie for a UMass women's basketball game. I talked with John, we had supper together, and then went to the meeting. The reason for the meeting was this: the Quebec Abenaki tribes, who are officially recognized by the Canadian federal government, are making quite a media stir. E.g., a headline from Vermont Digger reads "A Canadian tribe maintains that Vermont’s groups are not Indigenous and, instead, are appropriating their identity and culture. Research from leading scholars supports Odanak First Nation’s assertion, though the Vermont groups dispute it." There are four groups in Vermont (the Elnu Abenaki, Nulhegan Abenaki, Koasek Band of the Koas Abenaki Nation and the Abenaki Nation at Missisquoi) who are recognized by the state as being Abenaki, but they have not been able to get U.S. federal recognition as tribes. “We are who we say we are,” said Rich Holschuh, an Elnu band member who lives in Brattleboro and chairs the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, the state panel tasked with supporting the four groups. “I don’t know how else to put it.” The meeting I attended was led by Rich Holschuh, and there were several other individuals there who claimed to be Abenaki, but no one was there representing the Canadian Odanak tribe. It is a very complicated issue. How does one "prove" one's connection with Indigenous peoples who lived in the past? The Vermonters who claim that connection are fluent in the language, customs, rituals, etc., of the Abenaki, but their genealogical "evidence" is more tenuous. This is complicated by a unique Vermont situation, an early 20th century eugenics movement in Vermont which sterilized "inferior" groups, including, it is claimed, indigenous peoples, causing them to "hide," i.e., disclaim being Abenaki. Rich Holschuh spoke eloquently, as did others. There seem to be valid points on both sides. I am inclined to accept the Vermont groups as having some right to claim Abenaki identity, as the state of Vermont has done. There doesn't seem to be a lot of advantage to be won by making that claim, though there is some. There also may be some advantage to be gained by the Canadian tribes if they can "erase" the Vermont Abenaki. though that is controversial also. It was a fascinating study in "identity politics" for sure.

Rich Holschuh in center.************************* The other events were fairly routine: I feel good after my massage, but it isn't relieving the shoulder pain the way Angelina did. But I think it may be helping in a more general way. The sing for Nancy was lovely, and Ellen also brought soup for Nancy, who seems to be doing as well as can be expected after Tom's death. The Music Committee assigned me three Sundays to lead the choir between now and the end of May: March 24th (Palm Sunday); April 14th and May 12th. Mary agreed to give me whatever help I need. I can handle the mental aspects of leading, but the physical dimension is challenging. The foot care clinic was a big help - I was overdue for some nail clipping and corn and callous care. I oow have a date for the end of March. Today is a TarHeels game against Florida State, a Deacon's supper at the Dummerston Church, where we will be joined by John and Cynthia, and a Northern Roots Concert at the BMC - Northern Roots is led by Keith Murphy and has a lot of folks in it we know. Tomorrow is Bible Study after church, and Fred Breunig will join us to talk about how we can "live" what the parables are teaching with regard to the homeless in Brattleboro. Our next parable is The Leaven (Matt. 13.33; Luke 13:20-21) which we may or may not get to Sunday. It is only one verse long, but is packed with interpretation issues.