NRCS and the Vermont Land Trust have announced that after eight years of work focused on burial site preservation, including critical archeological and geological analyses, an important Abenaki Nation archeological resource and cemetery has been protected with a perpetual easement.

Fire pits, pottery, and remnants of a lodge were found at the site.  According to the oral history of the St. Francis-Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, the site was likely a “refuge village” dating back to the Late Woodland Period between 1400 and 1600 A.D.  And although visitation rights are held solely by the St. Francis-Sokoki Band, they will allow the rest of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi to use the site to pay homage to their ancestors and show appreciation for the land and its exceptional significance in their history.

The effort to protect the land was co-led by members of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, NRCS, and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) division for historic preservation.  The land will remain in private ownership with the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board co-holding the easement.

“This area of land is another place that shows that my people existed here for a very long time,” said Abenaki Chief April St. Francis Merrill.  “The Abenaki always knew that such a site existed and now we have it protected from being disturbed forever with the help of the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.

NRCS Archeologist Dave Skinas contributed essential archeological technical expertise and was instrumental in putting the partnership together between the Abenaki, the landowner, and the State.  The University of Vermont Consulting Archeological Program also volunteered staff and lab time for the project and performed carbon dating to confirm the age of the site.

“The success of this project could not have been achieved without the strong and lasting partnership formed between the landowner, the Abenaki community, and the State of Vermont,” said Skinas.  “The landowner showed great faith and fortitude during the project without knowing how the burial site might affect his livelihood.  The success of this project shows us what can be accomplished when we take the time to understand each other’s points of view on burial site protection and work hard together to satisfy those concerns.”

"We were presented with a rare opportunity — playing a part in protecting a culturally significant area for future generations,” said Bob Linck of the Vermont Land Trust.  “This is both a sacred site and one that has historic values of national significance.  The high level of cooperation with the landowner, the Abenaki, and our many partners made this a particularly gratifying project to work on."

Over time, NRCS has worked closely with the Missisquoi Abenaki by providing archeological assistance when their ancestral burial grounds are threatened.  NRCS conducted a ground penetrating radar study at this site in 2001 and other radar studies were performed elsewhere in the Missisquoi homeland in 1989, 2002, and 2004.  At this site the NRCS archeologist was able to negotiate an agreement between the stake holders to allow the monitoring of the excavation of overburden in an active gravel pit to ensure that no additional unmarked burials would be disturbed.  NRCS also assisted the landowner by developing a gravel pit reclamation plan, providing an engineering survey and geologic analysis of the commercial deposits, preparing a seeding plan, and making recommendations for fruit tree establishment on the site.
Your contact is NRCS Archeologist Dave Skinas at 802-828-4493, ext. 102.