Indigenous Peoples of Vermont

The most prominent early Indian tribes in Vermont were the Abénaki and Mahican. The western Abénaki Indians were composed of subdivisions including Sokoki, Missisquoi, and Cowasuck. Most of the Indian tribes have disappeared from Vermont through warfare, disease, or migration.

Tribes and Bands of Vermont
The following list of American Indians who have lived in Vermont has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians... and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.


 * Abenaki
 * Mahican
 * Missiassik
 * Pennacook
 * Pocomtuc

See the “Native Races” section of the United States Research Outline (30972) for suggestions on how to research American Indian ancestry. For the history of American Indians in Vermont, see:


 * Calloway, Colin G. The Western Abenakis of Vermont, 1600–1800. The Civilization of the American Indian Series, v.197. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990. (Family History Library book 970.3 Ab71cc; film 1598340, item5.) This contains a chronology of the tribe and a good bibliography of sources.
 * Haviland, William A. The Original Vermonters. Hanover, New Hampshire: Published for University of Vermont by University Press of New England, 1981. (Family History Library book 970.1 H199o.) This history includes information on the Abénaki and Mahican tribes in Vermont, an index, and a bibliography.

You can also find articles about Vermont Indians in Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society and in Vermont History. These periodicals and the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), which could be used to find articles on Indians, are discussed in the “Periodicals” section of this outline.

Family History Library
Additional sources on specific tribes can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Subject Search under the name of the tribe, for example:

ABÉNAKI INDIANS
Other sources can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Locality Search under:

VERMONT- NATIVE RACES

Other Repositories

 * Vermont Historical Society

See Also:
Vermont-Military Records for a list of forts

Vermont-History