Native commission recognizes Rep. Stevens for work on eugenics resolution

June 18, 2021  |  By Lisa Scagliotti 

State Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, (left) and state Archaeologist Jess Robinson (right) receive plaques from the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs recognizing their support for and efforts to research and pass J.R.2, a resolution of apology from the Legislature to those harmed by the state's eugenics policies and practices of the 20th century. Alongside Stevens commission Vice Chair Carol Irons and commission Chair Carol McGranaghan. Courtesy photo.

Waterbury Democratic state Rep. Tom Stevens’ work on a rare but important joint resolution in the Legislation this session received special recognition last week from the leading Native American organization in state government. 

In a letter to Stevens, who chairs the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs, the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs wrote to express its “sincere thanks in this year's legislation regarding Abenaki and other Indigenous groups in Vermont.” 

The House committee spent many hours gathering testimony and researching the history and impact of the Vermont Eugenics Survey of the 1930s. The program legalized sterilization of vulnerable populations at the time including many Indigenous people, those with disabilities, people of color, and the poor. 

The result was the joint resolution passed unanimously by both House and Senate with the purpose of “sincerely apologizing and expressing sorrow and regret to all individual Vermonters and their families and descendants who were harmed as a result of state-sanctioned eugenics policies and practices.” 

The commission’s letter noted that the sincerity that the House committee considered the matter was testimony to Stevens’ leadership. “The sympathetic consideration of information shared by those affected when giving their difficult, sometimes painful testimony was evident, as was the concerted effort to research the subject matter by soliciting information from historians and other sources as well,” the letter says.

The resolution was the first statewide recognition of the harm caused by the eugenics experiment. Legislative leaders say they intend to look toward next steps such as reparations to survivors and descendants of those who were targeted.   

“It is the beginning of the healing process for all involved,” the commission’s letter to Stevens says. 

The group also acknowledged Stevens’ overall advocacy for Abenaki and Indigenous people: “We are often marginalized, minimized and forgotten. With your voice you have given us a voice as well.” 

Members of the commission presented Stevens with an “outstanding legislator” plaque and also honored state Archaeologist Jess Robinson for his research on the subject. 

Stevens represents Waterbury, Huntington, Bolton and Buel’s Gore in the Washington-Chittenden House district.