Two Abenaki First Nations in Canada contest the legitimacy of the four groups recognized by the state of Vermont as Abenaki tribes. This is a dispute that goes back at least two decades, and has gained more prominence in recent years. In this episode, we trace Abenaki history up to 2003, when Odanak First Nation first denounced Vermont groups claiming to be Abenaki.

This is Chapter One of “Recognized,” a special series from Brave Little State. Chapters Two and Three are available right now in this podcast feed. Find a transcript of the series here.

And to learn more about our approach to this story, you can read our editor's note, here.

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“Recognized” was reported by Elodie Reed. Sabine Poux is our producer. The senior producer and managing editor is Josh Crane. Additional editing from our executive producer, Angela Evancie, as well as Tristan Ahtone, Brittany Patterson, Myra Flynn and Julia Furukawa. Julia Furukawa and David Savoie contributed reporting to this episode. Extra support from Mark Davis and Sophie Stephens. Theme music is by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

There are lots of other people who contributed to this series along the way — too many to name everyone here. You can find a full list on our website..

As always, our show is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.

P.S. A previous version of this story described Gordon Day as a historian. We have updated the audio to describe him as an anthropologist.