Governor Jim Douglas appointed Charles Delaney-Megeso of Burlington the new chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (VCNAA) on November 5, 2009.
Delaney-Megeso is a Mazipskwik Abenaki, indigenous to northwestern Vermont. He has worked on Native issues for more than two decades. His service includes being the Missisquoi St. Francis/Sokoki Abenaki band’s ambassador to the Vermont and U.S. governments, a position he held for four years during the 1990s. He was also an indigenous representative to the United Nations from 2002-2004, one of many from around the globe who helped draft the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
He successfully lobbied to have the City of Burlington recognize the Abenaki in 1995. He was one of the key lobbyists to the Vermont Legislature for Abenaki recognition and the creation of the VCNAA in 2006, having written pertinent parts of that law. He became a member of the Commission in September 2008.
At the beginning of this year, the Native American Affairs Commission made Delaney-Megeso their liaison with the Vermont Legislature to seek greater authority in matters affecting Vermont’s indigenous people. In the course of that consultation, he has also heard about ideas from the Legislature for a proposed recognition of various Abenaki bands in the 2010 session.
“I’m trying to create a door so other people can walk through it,” Delaney-Megeso said. “If the bands get recognition and the Commission gets empowered, then I’ve done my job. It is my fervent desire to have the Native American Affairs Commission achieve better standing to serve its peoples in the most democratic way possible.”
Delaney-Megeso continued, “I am humbled by my appointment and will do my best to properly serve the Commission’s constituents and the State as a whole. I am proud of the VCNAA, its members, and the tasks that it has in front of it. If I work myself out of this position, then I’ve done my job. Others can continue the work.”
