Indigenous Identity and Belonging Discussion Held at UVM; Protestors Take Exception
Broadcast on WPTZ NBC - Channel 5 Burlington, VT Updated 11:16 PM EDT Apr 25, 2024
Leading scholars of indigenous identity and belonging gathered at UVM on Thursday to examine contested claims of indigeneity in our region.
Before the talk began, protestors were outside the Dudley H. Davis Center, proclaiming these discussions were the opposite of educational.
Earlier this week, members of the Vermont indigenous community issued a call for tolerance after some people from the Abenaki nation in Canada questioned the validity of the group here in Vermont.
"It's about genocide. It's about de-racing people and defaming us. No one tribe owns the whole Abenaki nations in this country or in Canada," said Brenda Gagne, Chief of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi.