Yes. I'll answer fast.
I'm a member of the Abenaki First Nation of Odanak, located in southern Quebec along the U.S. border. Our territory transcends borders and covers all of New England. Past colonial wars pushed us into the northern end of our traditional territory, all the way to the current Odanak reserve.
We have inhabited this territory since time immemorial. In the United States, there is a trend of self-declaration, particularly in the state of Vermont. In 2005, several false tribes self-identified as Abenaki. They petitioned the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for acknowledgement, but their petition was turned down.
However, in the United States, there are federated states and the federal government, and they're all independent. The federated state of Vermont recognized four false Abenaki tribes by not requiring genealogy to be submitted as historical proof. It was a purely political decision that had an impact on my nation, because those people are rewriting our history. They're erasing us and replacing us. Those people are receiving services and public funds based on a false identity.
We challenged this decision with the Vermont senate. For over 25 years, we've been fighting against self-declared groups in Quebec. Last month, we also travelled to New York to stand before the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and speak out about this situation, because it affects not only indigenous people in Quebec and Canada, but all indigenous peoples, such as the Sami people and the indigenous peoples of the Philippines and Taiwan.
We hosted a round table on issues affecting the Abenakis of Odanak and other indigenous peoples around the world. We told them that we're having the same problems as they are with identity fraud, which is also having repercussions on the economic development of their communities.
In July, we went to Geneva to speak at the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a branch of the UN Human Rights Council, in order to denounce a provision in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that provides for the right to self-determination.
The UN's self-identification measures were put in place to protect peoples who were being oppressed in various countries. In Canada, however, this measure is having the opposite effect by enabling Canadians to self-identify as indigenous so they can qualify for grants, further their career and enjoy all the perks that come with this status. They're financially motivated.
Identity theft is a serious problem for the Abenakis of Odanak. Since we're located in the south, in the St. Lawrence valley, we were the first to come into contact with the French, followed by the British and finally the Canadians. Our nation is one of the most appropriated, and our identity is stolen more often than any other nation in Quebec.