Eugenics at UVM: why Abenaki leaders feel the apology wasn't enough

by Nicole Hardy, Cynic News Reporter


A shadow looms over an empty space on the wall of Howe Memorial Library where a portrait of former UVM President Guy Bailey once hung next to that of David W. Howe.

Nearly three years ago, Bailey’s name was removed from the Howe Memorial Library following campus-wide outrage over his involvement in the eugenics movement during the 1920s and 30s.

Eugenics, a topic scarcely discussed today, was a movement aimed at cleansing society of Indigenous people and people with traits that had been subjectively deemed “undesirable,” through sterilization.

The targeted groups consisted of Native-American populations, including the Abenaki People, as well as immigrants, women and persons with disabilities, according to a 2019 letter from former UVM President E. Thomas Sullivan.

Read more: https://vtcynic.com/news/eugenics-at-uvm-why-abenaki-leaders-feel-the-apology-wasnt-enough/