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BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124

Written by Administrator

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 1 www.leg.state.vt.us 1 H.124 2 Introduced by Representatives Consejo of Sheldon, Mrowicki of Putney, 3 Savage of Swanton and Young of St. Albans City 4 Referred to Committee on 5 Date: 6 Subject: Native Americans; recognition; arts and crafts 7 Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to recognize certain bands within the 8 Abenaki Nation as the original Native American tribes residing in Vermont, to 9 give the Vermont commission on Native American affairs the authority to 10 recognize other tribes and bands of Native Americans, and to set out the 11 procedures and criteria for granting recognition. 12 An act relating to recognition of tribes and bands of Native Americans by 13 the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs 14 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 15 Sec. 1. 1 V.S.A. § 852(b) and (c) are amended to read: 16 (b) The commission shall comprise be composed of seven members, who 17 are residents of Vermont and provide a broad representation of Native 18 American tribes and bands. The members shall be appointed by the governor 19 for two-year staggered three-year terms from a list of candidates compiled by 20 the division for historic preservation. The governor shall appoint a chair from BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 2 www.leg.state.vt.us among the members of the commission. The division 1 shall compile a list of 2 candidates’ recommendations from the following. The commission shall be 3 organized as follows: 4 (1) Recommendations from the Missisquoi Abenaki and other Abenaki 5 and other Native American regional tribal councils and communities in 6 Vermont Three members, one from each of the following three bands of the 7 Sovereign Abenaki Nation shall be appointed from a list of three candidates 8 offered by each of the following bands: 9 (A) The Abenaki Nation of the Missisquoi St. Francis/Sokoki Band, 10 now or formerly lead by Chief April St. Francis-Merrill. 11 (B) The Koasek Traditional Band of the Abenaki Nation of the Koas, 12 now or formerly led by Chief Nancy Millette. 13 (C) The Nulhegan Band, now or formerly led by Chief Luke Willard. 14 (2) Applicants Four members shall be appointed from a list of applicants 15 who apply in response to solicitations, publications, and website notification 16 by the division of historical preservation. 17 (3) The division for historic preservation of the department of housing 18 and community affairs shall provide administrative support to the commission 19 in carrying out the requirements of this section. BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 3 www.leg.state.vt.us (4) The commission shall be entitled to 1 per diem compensation and 2 actual and necessary expenses in accordance with 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for 3 meetings held for the purpose of acting on applications for recognition. 4 (c) The commission shall have has the authority to assist Native American 5 tribal councils, organizations, and individuals to do the following: 6 (1) Secure social services, education, employment opportunities, health 7 care, housing, and census information. 8 (2) Permit the creation, display, and sale of Native American arts and 9 crafts and legally to label them Legally label Native American-made arts and 10 crafts as Indian- or Native American-produced as provided in 18 U.S.C. 11 § 1159(c)(3)(B) and 25 U.S.C. § 305e(d)(3)(B). 12 (3) Receive assistance and support from the federal Indian Arts and 13 Crafts Board, as provided in 25 U.S.C. § 305 et seq. 14 (4) Become eligible for federal assistance with educational, housing, and 15 cultural opportunities. 16 (5) Establish and continue programs offered through the U.S. 17 Department of Education Office on Indian Education pursuant to Title VII of 18 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act established in 1972 to support 19 educational and cultural efforts of tribal entities that have been either state or 20 federally recognized. BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 4 www.leg.state.vt.us (6) Formally recognize tribes and bands of Native 1 Americans on behalf 2 of the state for the sole purpose specified in subdivisions (1) – (5) of this 3 subsection in compliance with section 853 of this title. 4 Sec. 2. 1 V.S.A. § 853 is amended to read: 5 § 853. RECOGNITION OF ABENAKI PEOPLE: CRITERIA; 6 PROCEDURE 7 (a) The state of Vermont recognizes the Abenaki people Nation and 8 recognizes all Native American people who reside in Vermont as a minority 9 population. 10 (b) The state of Vermont recognizes the following bands of the Abenaki 11 Natioin as original Native American tribes in Vermont: 12 (1) The Abenaki Nation of the Missisquoi St. Francis/Sokoki Band, now 13 or formerly led by Chief April St. Francis-Merrill. 14 (2) The Koasek Traditional Band of the Abenaki Nation of the Koas, 15 now or formerly led by Chief Nancy Millette. 16 (3) The Nulhegan Band, now or formerly led by Chief Luke Willard. 17 (c) Recognition of the Native American or Abenaki people provided in 18 subsection (a) of under this section or by the general assembly shall be for the 19 sole purposes specified in subsection 852(c) subdivisons 852(c)(1) – (5) of this 20 title and shall not be interpreted to provide any Native American or Abenaki BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 5 www.leg.state.vt.us person individual with any other special rights or privileges 1 that the state does 2 not confer on or grant to other state residents. 3 (c)(d) Recognition procedure: 4 (1) For the purpose of this section: 5 (A) “Applicant” means a Native American nation, tribe, or band 6 seeking formal state recognition. 7 (B) “Nation,” “tribe,” or “band” means an assembly of Native 8 American or Indian people who are related to each other by blood and kinship 9 and who trace their ancestry to a kinship group that has historically maintained 10 influence and authority over its members. 11 (C) “Recognized” means acknowledged as a Native American tribe 12 or band by the Vermont general assembly or the Vermont commission on 13 Native American affairs. 14 (2) Applications for recognition shall be submitted to the commission 15 which shall review the application and documentation to determine compliance 16 with subdivision (6) of this subsection. The commission may recognize an 17 applicant if two-thirds of the commission members eligible to vote determine 18 that an applicant meets the criteria set forth in this section. A commission 19 member who is a member of an applicant group or who has an economic or 20 other conflict of interest shall be disqualified from participating in the 21 consideration or vote on the application for recognition. BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 6 www.leg.state.vt.us (3) No later than 10 days after receipt of an application, 1 the commission 2 shall schedule at least one public hearing. The commission shall provide 3 public notice of the application and the time and location of the hearing at least 4 five days prior to the hearing. All proceedings on an application shall be 5 public, and the application and supporting documentation are not exempt from 6 the provisions of section 317 of this title and shall become part of the 7 application record. The commission may consult with historians, 8 anthropologists, genealogists, or other experts during its deliberations 9 regarding recognition. 10 (4) An applicant or successor that has been denied recognition by the 11 commission is ineligible to reapply unless the applicant provides new evidence 12 or documentation to support the application, and that evidence or 13 documentation was not reasonably available at the time of the initial 14 application. 15 (5) Upon request, the commission shall provide an applicant with 16 technical assistance, including an explanation of the recognition process. 17 (6) An application for recognition shall include a signed statement from 18 the applicant’s leaders affirming that the information is true and accurate. Any 19 individual seeking recognition on behalf of a tribe or band shall be a Vermont 20 resident. The application shall be accompanied by documentation of all the 21 following: BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 7 www.leg.state.vt.us (A) The relationship by blood and kinship 1 of the members of the 2 applicant tribe or band or their ancestral connection to a kinship group. 3 (B) Historical maintenance of the following by the applicant group: 4 (i) Continuous connections with Abenaki tribes or bands that have 5 historically inhabited Vermont and with that geographic area and the historical 6 Abenaki homeland. 7 (ii) Influence and authority over its members. 8 (C) Genealogy that demonstrates the relationships among the kinship 9 groups to which the applicant belongs. 10 (D) Traditions, customs, oral stories, and histories of Abenaki 11 cultural heritage. 12 (E) The structure, membership criteria, and process by which the 13 tribe or band conducts its affairs. 14 (7) Recognition of any tribe or band may be revoked or an application 15 for recognition rejected if the commission finds that the applicant made any 16 material misrepresentations. 17 (e) This chapter shall not be construed to recognize, create, extend, or form 18 the basis of any right or claim to land or real estate in Vermont for the Abenaki 19 people or any Abenaki individual and shall be construed to confer only those 20 rights specifically described in this chapter. BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 8 www.leg.state.vt.us Sec. 3. CONDITIONAL 1 RECOGNITION 2 (a) For the purposes of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, Public Law 3 101-644 (104 stat 4663-64), as amended, the state of Vermont recognizes the 4 following bands of the Abenaki Nation on the condition that each band that has 5 not yet been recognized by the commission submits to the commission by 6 March 1, 2011, information required by 1 V.S.A. § 854(f): 7 (1) The Abenaki Nation of the Missisquoi St. Francis Sokoki Band, now 8 or formerly led by Chief April St. Francis-Merrill. 9 (2) The Koasek Traditional Band of the Abenaki Nation of the Koas, 10 now or formerly led by Chief Nancy Millette. 11 (3) The Nulhegan Band, now or formerly led by Chief Luke Willard. 12 (b) No more than six months after receipt of the application, the 13 commission shall review the application and supporting documentation or 14 request supplemental or further clarifying information that must be submitted 15 within two months after the request, unless more time is granted by the 16 commission. 17 (c) No later than eight months after receipt of an application for recognition 18 or two months after receipt of any supplemental or additional clarifying 19 information, the commission shall hold a hearing and decide whether 20 recognition of the bands listed in subsection (a) of this section shall be 21 continued or revoked. BILL AS INTRODUCED H.124 2009 Page 9 www.leg.state.vt.us 1 Sec. 4. SUNSET 2 Sec. 3 of this act (conditional recognition) shall be repealed on January 15, 3 2013. 4 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE 5 This act shall take effect on passage. http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/status/summary.cfm?Bill=H.0124&Session=2010

 

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