photo: Langelle/GJEP
Note: At the first General Assembly of the Occupy Burlington encampment, GJEP ED Anne Petermann grounded the space in the history of the Indigenous Peoples of the region: the Abenaki. She opened the circle by stating, via “people’s mic” that, “the land that this encampment is on is the traditional land of the Abenaki People. This land was never ceded, never signed away in a treaty, but was stolen. It has been occupied by the state of Vermont. In 1992 the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that any rights the Abenaki People had to their traditional lands was no longer valid due to “the increasing weight of history. For these reasons, I am asking the Occupy Burlington encampment to recognize that this land is Abenaki land.” The proposal was met with nearly unanimous twinkling of fingers supporting it.
The GJEP Team
Video: Occupy Burlington general assembly from the Burlington Free Press [Please ignore the short sponsor advert in the beginning-The GJEP Team.]
PDF: Letter from Burlington Mayor’s office to Occupy Vermont after next two photos.
photo: Langelle/GJEP
- Occupy Burlington takes over City Hall Park and spends the night. The city of Burlington issued ground rules to the Occupy Burlington crowd Friday afternoon with officials saying they do “not object to your use of the park” until midnight — City Hall Park’s official closing time — and reminding the protesters that camping is not allowed in the park, which is closed from midnight until 6 a.m. “However,”read the statement, signed by Mayor Bob Kiss, “in light of the circumstances, so long as the rules are complied with and no other public health and safety concerns arise, either internally or externally from the gathering, the City will take a wait and see approach as to enforcement of the camping ban while we carefully monitor the situation.” photo: Langelle/GJEP
Full Mayor Kiss Letter from Burlington Mayor’s office to Occupy Vermont
