The Vermont Indigenous Celebration

Join the Abenaki people of Vermont for a four-day celebration of history, culture and survival. July 9-12, we will be sharing our history, culture and arts at one of the premiere signature events of the Vermont Quadricentennial Celebration. ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center/Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington makes the perfect backdrop for this celebration because many of our ancestors lived and died alongside of Bitawbagw (Abenaki for “The Lake in Between”), known today as Lake Champlain. Indigenous Celebration made possible by a grant from the US Department of Education through the support of US Senator, Patrick Leahy. The Native American Quadricentennial Advisory Panel (NAQUAD) has been working with Vermont Quadricentennial Commission and state officials in planning the Vermont Indigenous Celebration Signature Event since 2004. According to Dr. Frederick Wiseman, Tribal Historian and Quadricentennial Commission member, this event, “…is our way of showcasing the fact that Vermont has and has always had a vibrant Native American community.” The Vermont Indigenous Celebration will feature presentations by citizens of the following Abenaki bands - Missisquoi, Koasek of the Koas, Nulhegan Band of Abenakis, the Elnu Abenaki Tribe of the Koasek and the Koasek Traditional Band. Enjoy sharing in our past and present through lectures on history and culture and films spanning the whole 11,000 years of the Vermont Abenaki experience. You will have the opportunity to listen to traditional stories, as told by Chief Roger Longtoe Sheehan and Laughing Couple Interactive Storytelling. Our dance circle will be brought to life by award winning Abenaki dancers, Takara Matthews and Josh Hunt. Don’t forget to stop by ECHO’s Think! Café for a traditional Abenaki meal. Stimulate all of yours senses as you walk through a seventeenth century Abenaki Encampment, provided by the citizens of the Elnu Abenaki Tribe of the Koasek. Talk to artists as they demonstrate Eastern Woodland style crafts. Some of the featured artists will be quillworkers Rose Hartwell and Jim Taylor; fiber artist Vera Longtoe Sheehan; wampum worker Linda Longtoe Sheehan; as well as finger weavers Kathy Swift and Melody Walker. There will be guest appearances by out Mohawk cousins from the other side of Bitawbagw. On July 10th, Thunder Hawk Dancers will fire up the dance circle and on July 12th, Darren Bonnepart will do a Mohawk Wampum Reading. “We hope that the visitors to Vermont’s waterfront will in early July of 2009 will come away with a newfound understanding and respect for the original people of what is now called Vermont,” explains Dr. Wiseman. For more information: http://www.vtindigenous.com Contact: vlongtoe@vtindigenous.com This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Phone: (802) 579 0049

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