Vermont Public Docs

Stephanie Robtoy works as an account manager at Working Fields, a staffing agency that helps people with barriers gain and maintain a job. She grew up in St. Albans in a huge family of Robtoys, some of whom are pretty notorious in town for criminal activity. In this story, Stephanie talks about what it was like to grow up poor, with a last name that was hard to escape.

"What class are you?" is an occasional series from Vermont Public reporter Erica Heilman. In it, she talks with people from all sorts of backgrounds about money and class and privilege.

Irfan Sehic and his family fled the war in Bosnia and arrived in Barre when Irfan was 17. He worked a number of jobs, went to college and started his own insurance agency, which he still runs out of his house. And for the last few years, he's been a club soccer coach. Irfan lives with his wife and son in Milton, and in this story, he describes the American class system as he sees it, starting with the middle class.

"What class are you?" is an occasional series from Vermont Public reporter Erica Heilman. In it, she talks with people from all sorts of backgrounds about money and class and privilege.

Who gets to decide who is Abenaki? Vermont’s four state-recognized tribes — and the state recognition law — have different definitions and criteria for what it means to be Indigenous than many Indigenous Nations. In this episode, we look at this disconnect, and lay out what’s at stake, including power, money and authority.

This is Chapter Three of “Recognized,” a special series from Brave Little State. Chapters One and Two 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, Corey Dockser 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.

After the original group of self-proclaimed Vermont Abenaki failed to gain federal recognition, Vermont lawmakers created a state recognition process of their own. One theory in particular informed the state’s consideration: that Abenaki peoples hid in Vermont to avoid persecution, including statewide eugenics policies. In this episode, we look at recent evidence, as well as older reports, that cast doubt on this narrative.

This is Chapter Two of “Recognized,” a special series from Brave Little State. Chapters One 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.

***

“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 also 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.

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.

***

“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.

University of Virginia researchers say the complaint line run by the grassroots workers’ rights program Milk With Dignity improves conditions for both farmworkers and farm owners. But the program currently only covers one-fifth of Vermont’s dairy industry.

Read more from Vermont Public's Elodie Reed.

Giuliano Cecchinelli is part of a long legacy of Italian stone carvers in Barre, craftsmen whose skill transformed an industry and made the small central Vermont town the “Granite Capital of the World.”

In the early 20th century, Barre was a booming industry town. Thousands of workers spent their days making monuments. The railroad chugged into town to take them around the country, and stone dust filled the air.

But Barre is no longer the bustling industry town it once was. The granite industry has modernized and consolidated. The flood of immigrants turned into a trickle, and eventually stopped. The Italian sculptors have died, or retired, or moved away. And Giuliano is the only one left.

Read more and see original and historical photos in the web version of this story.

This story was produced by Anna Van Dine, with editing from Mark Davis and Erica Heilman. Digital support from Mike Dougherty and Elodie Reed, with additional assistance from Kari Anderson. Special thanks to Josh Crane, Paige Gherardi Lamthi, Sue Higby, Mary Fregosi, and Scott McLaughlin.