Koasek Abenaki Tribe

The Koasek Abenaki Tribe is a state-recognized tribe in Vermont, who claim descent from Abenaki people.

They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe. Vermont does not have any federally recognized Native American tribes.

This organization should not be confused with the Ko'asek (Co'wasuck) Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation, an unrecognized tribe based in New Hampshire, or the many other groups who use the term Cowasuck.

Name
The term Koasek is an Abenaki language term that translates as "young pine tree." Another version of the word, Cowasuck, was applied to a brook that was a tributary to the Sudbury River in Massachusetts.

State-recognition
Vermont recognized the Koasek Abenaki Tribe as in 2012. The other state-recognized tribes in Vermont are the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, Elnu Abenaki Tribe, and the Mississquoi Abenaki Tribe.

Heritage
The Koasek Abenaki Tribe are one of four state-recognized tribes in Vermont. They had 60 members in 2016.

St. Mary's University associate professor Darryl Leroux's genealogical and historical research found that the members of this and the other three state-recognized tribes in Vermont were composed primarily of "French descendants who have used long-ago ancestry in New France to shift into an 'Abenaki' identity."

In 2002, the State of Vermont reported that the Abenaki people had migrated north to Quebec by the end of the 18th century.

Activities
They participate in Abenaki Heritage Weekend, held at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vermont.

Property tax
Vermont H.556, "An act relating to exempting property owned by Vermont-recognized Native American tribes from property tax," passed on April 20, 2022.

Notable members

 * Billy Kidd, former alpine ski racer