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Chief April St Francis-Merrill Questions Commission's Authority |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 22 January 2009 |
Chief April St Francis-Merrill Questions Commission's Authority
On behalf of Chief April St. Francis Merrill and the Missisquoi Abenaki we take issue with Item 2.b. of the 12-11-08 VCNAA minutes:
"Judy had found a site for repatriation at Malletts Creek, but the remains were taken by April St. Francis Merrill and repatriated in a highly sensitive part of the Intervale; a protected site with undue impact where 47 test pits taken all revealed Native American remains and/or artifacts. It was suggested that Giovanna Peebles, VT State Archeologist be contacted to attend a meeting with the Commission and discuss these issues. "
1. Ms. Dow or the VCNAA has no authority under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) or the State burial laws to deal with any human remains in Vermont. Ms. Dow does not represent any long-standing native political unit or historically-verifiable tribe and has no experience in reinterring native burials according to Abenaki traditions. The Missisquoi Abenaki are recognized by NAGPRA as the authority in Vermont and New Hampshire to deal with Native American burials and for several decades the Vermont State Archeologist, Giovanna Pebbles, and the Division for Historic Preservation (DHP) has recognized Missisquoi for these purposes and relied on their representatives to care for and properly reinter Native American burials found in Vermont.
2. Chief April did not 'take' the remains from the Medical Examiner’s Office. On December 20, 2007 the State Archeologist contacted Chief April St. Francis Merrill by email to take charge of and properly reinter the remains that had just been found in the Medical Examiner’s Office. This transfer of remains to the Missisquoi band was done with the knowledge and approval of DHP, and all necessary burial transit and reinterment permits were obtained from the City of Burlington. Prior to the removal of the burials from the Medical Examiner’s Office staff from the UVM Consulting Archaeological Program inventoried the remains.
3. If Ms. Dow had an appropriate repatriation site it was never communicated to the State Archeologist or Chief April. Giovanna Pebbles and DHP staff could not find a suitable site within the Mallet's Creek watershed that would have provided long-term protection. The Intervale Center offered an appropriate repatriation plot to Chief April to reinter these remains from Mallets Creek because they could guarantee perpetual protection through the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board easement. Because these remains had been out of the ground for almost a hundred years it was felt that they needed to b returned to the earth soon. On July 7th, 2008 the three sets of remains from the Medical Examiner’s Office were reinterred on the Intervale Center property in a suitable and protected location.
4. Ms. Dow does not know where the human remains were reinterred, and we guarantee you that no archeological test pitting has ever been done within or near the repatriation plot, no cultural remains have ever been found in this part of the Intervale because it is not in agricultural use or part of the composting operation and this area has never been developed for any Intervale Center related activities so there has never been any undo impacts to precontact Native American archeological deposits.
We think the record needs to be set straight and the minutes need to be revised accordingly.
With Sincerest Regards,
Chief April St. Francis Merrill
St. Francis/Sokoki Band
Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi
David Skinas, NRCS Archeologist
Missisquoi Task Force on Abenaki Affairs
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