The Maine attorney general's office has removed the word "Abenaki" from the Abenaki Nation's contract with the state, The County Courier reports.

Chief April St. Francis-Merril said the removal of the tribe's name from a contract with the University of Vermont and the state Department of Children and Families amounts to racism. And the governor's office and a state senator don't think the action is necessary.

The chief assistant attorney general said he removed "Abenaki" and replaced it with "Indian Education Program" because the contract "seemed to have an awful lot of references to Abenaki." The attorney general is opposed to the tribe's federal recognition and said the contract should not refer to the Abenakis as a tribe.

The tribe has held the contract is for a child welfare and cultural education program since 2001.

Get the Story:
Abenaki angered by AG's deletion of tribal name from contract (The County Courier 3/31)

Relevant Links:
Abenaki Nation - http://www.abenakination.org

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Abenakis press Vermont for state recognition (02/16)
Bill in Vermont seeks to recognize Abenaki Nation (02/14)
Tribe's endorsement of Clark a criticism of Dean (01/13)
Abenaki chief wants NCAI to know Dean's record (11/20)