Last week, a member of the nine-person Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs announced by email they were resigning.
Beverly Little Thunder has served on the Commission since 2019. And as part of that official body, she was tasked with developing policies and programs to benefit Vermont's Native American population.
In her email letter, Little Thunder said she was stepping down because of “deceit and dysfunction.”
And in her time there, she says she’s witnessed male commissioners being dismissive of their female colleagues.
Little Thunder, who is Lakota, also alleges members of the Commission are falsely claiming to be Indigenous.
She isn’t the only one to level these allegations. Two Abenaki First Nations in Quebec claim that Vermont’s state-recognized tribes, to which many of the Commission members belong, have not provided the genealogical and historical evidence to show they are Abenaki.
State-recognized tribes counter these claims by saying they went through the state recognition process.
Beverly Little Thunder recently spoke with Vermont Public reporter and producer Elodie Reed, who has been following this story. Their conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Elodie Reed: Beverly, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me. I want to talk about your resignation letter, and you said you wanted to join the...
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