The Nation - News from Aug. 12, 1988

Vermont’s only Indian tribe, seeking to reclaim land lost to white settlers, presented an “eviction notice” to the Swanton town government and demanded $100 million in “back rent and damages.” “I just gave them 30 days to clear out--the town clerk, the village and the Police Department,” said Homer St. Francis, chief of the 2,200-member Abenaki Nation. The ultimatum is the latest salvo in a long-running battle between the state and the Indians, who claim ownership of all of Swanton, a town of about 5,500 near the Canadian border.