Our community is on land that the Abenaki people simply referred to as “our land”, or N’dakinna. They have been here stewarding and living with the land since soon after the end of the last ice age, over 10,000 years ago. During the ice age, the glaciers were two miles thick in this area. As I sit on a forested slope in the watershed now called Dowsville, I can almost imagine the glacier sliding down from the north, from Moziozagan or moose’s shoulder to the Abenaki. Now called Camel’s Hump, this mountain sat beneath a mile of ice, and held strong even as it was ground and torn away.

Though often just a trickle, I can hear the roar of the brook right now, which flows in the same direction as the glacier moved, guided by bedrock and gouging this valley, to eventually meet the Mad River, then the Winooski, then the once salty sea lake. The recent rains give the river its voice and brought down most of the leaves so that the song can travel up to me. Yellows and oranges and reds can still be seen here and there up high, though on the ground the leaves are  brown and slick, warning me to pick my way carefully as I descend.

I contemplate the inevitability of change, whether millennial or seasonal, and give thanks to the mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, plants, and creatures for our interconnectedness. I mourn the violence, genocide, disappearance, and disrespect that some of my ancestors brought to the Abenaki people. I am grateful for the Abenaki’s continued presence and teaching and stewardship.

As I depart, a raven croaks with intention. Maybe a warning. Or a call of curiosity. But definitely a voice that belongs in this place.

Rylee Walker

This is the link to "Lost but Never Forgotten"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mbIdsi8uU08HUadi8cFTC2vseogSTEHU/view

Monelle Cote

This is the link to my "The Journey to Now" video!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GY88uJijn7nzXXjv6JgzG7N9r4FQKH6X/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JH6Q3RwWU3yrAJwGCgwSChqEePBciXWQ/view?usp=sharing

The reason I chose Wilderness Peak is not because it would be easy to write about or because I found a lot of information on it. In fact, both of those statements turned out to be false. Information on the town of Bolton and Wilderness Peak was extremely hard to come by. I chose this mountain for a different reason because this mountain is where some of my most favorite memories are.

Video

Lake Willoughby Land acknowledgment

After reflecting on this place during this project I have come to appreciate it a little more. Before I never really thought twice about visiting there, but now I realize that for me it is a rather special place. Whenever we went there it was a privilege and we all felt lucky to go. I would always go with my friends and we would all be excited to know we were going to Lake Willoughby. Now that I’m reflecting on all the times I visited there I remember all the fun I had and how beautiful the land is. I am usually not a person for hikes but the hike up Mount Pisgah offers a great view of the lake and the mountain on the other side. My friends and I always have a good time when we go there. We like to hit all the spots, the rope swing, we like to paddle from the beach to Devil's Rock, jump off, and hike (sometimes). All of those are so peaceful and enjoyable. But probably my favorite memory is tossing a frisbee in the water. At the beach, there are about 15 yards where the water is only two to three feet deep. It is the perfect spot to just mess around and play in the water. All that being said I have learned a lot about appreciating land from this project and it has taught me a lot about appreciating the land I visit and recognizing what it means to me. 

Link: https://www.wevideo.com/class#editor/3282380008/3282380004

Ella McAllister

Here is the link to my video: https://www.wevideo.com/class#editor/3284044185/3284044176

Looking into the past of Beaver Meadows  

Beaver Meadows also known as Madonna Mountain, The land was formed by magma pushing to the very top to create rocky peaks. 100 millions of years ago. Most of the land has been formed by erosion and glaciers melting. Vermont used to be highly covered in ice, when it melted the land went with it, creating huge rifts in between mountains. A folktale from the Abenaki… “When creator made the land he first made the trees but he needed humans, he saw stones and told the stones to wake up and created the stones people who were un caring and mean, so creator shook these people until they feel apart and created the mountains, so he did something different so he used ash, they share their breath with a living beings and they danced with the wind, so we became apart of the land we don't own anything. The Abenaki are a part of the land we live with the land, on it to take care of it.” (Lucy Canon Neel)

The Abenkai lived in parts of Canada, Vermont and maine. They referred to themselves as the dawn people or people from the east because that's the way the sun rose. The abenaki were very avid hunters and gatherers in the 17th century then it came to beavers and the fur trade and after that they became adapted to the ideals of the European economy. Abenaki culture taught lots of art and dancing. They shared stories and legends through speech because it wasn't a written language. 

Before the Europeans invaded there was some sickness spreading around, most populations of the Abenkai were lost in huge groups, those that were not were sent to boarding schools. “Contagious diseases from Europe had already decimated their population as explorers passed sickness from tribe to tribe.  Native people of coastal and southern New England, forced out of their homelands by English farmers, migrated north seeking refuge with their kinsmen” (Vermont Historical Society). It was renamed to Beaver Meadows because of the high beaveer present, the abenaki would hunt the beavers and use the coats to trade with the europeans.For a long time the hiking trails were logging roads. It's now a part of the Vermont state forests and is home to many hiking trails, ponds and cabins that are visited by many people daily. Its cared for by the GMC long trail foundation. The land is protected by the state 

Beaver meadows has a really amazing place in my heart, my troop has been there twice now and have had a lot of fun each time. I love how secluded and pretty it is. I remember playing camouflage and losing every time. The times we trected out to get firewood and came back very very successful. I remember eating half cooked ramen because we were too impatient to let it cook all the way. When I think of beaver meadows I get reminded of the heavy smell of nature and the smoky cabin that was like a sauna until the fire went out. My favorite time was definitely the fall, the foliage was so beautiful to see, and the huge mountains. 

“Abenaki.” Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca, 2021, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/abenaki. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

“Freedom & Unity: Clash of Cultures — Vermont Historical Society.” Vermonthistory.org, 2021, vermonthistory.org/freedom-unity-clash-of-cultures. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Rosie, Audio

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZmQTROW3sOK7r7ZFfo6AXQjTm86QiwUg/view?usp=drive_link

by Cyrus Wallack

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EeRcVow2HiWU6kLKIvWbIAMfY8SfTDzn/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18L7emX9b32xcRipDV1Tr8RAyup9aptJH/view?usp=drive_link