The Forgotten Treaty

The introduction of the story begins in 1763. It is the end of the French and Indian War, however not every man has laid down his weapons. One group of greedy settlers takes it upon themselves to descend on a peaceful tribe of Abenaki Indians along the coast of Lake Champlain in upstate Vermont. The white men kill many of the tribe’s men, women and children while one man in particular seeks out the Chief’s daughter. The Chief’s only daughter who is close to the end of her pregnancy runs for her life, but cannot escape the white man, who catches her when she suddenly goes into labor. After raping her and killing her newborn child he leaves her barely clinging to life. The man is hunted down by the tribe and brought back to face the Chief. A broken man, the Chief no longer has the will to fight and agrees to sign over the land to the white man, but only after he agrees to sign a treaty that the white man has no intention of honoring.

The present day story begins with the introduction of the main character Lily Moreau. Lily, who resides in Boston, Massachusetts is contacted by an estate attorney and is asked to go to Vermont for the reading of a will for a woman she does not know. Confused but intrigued, Lily, who is in her first trimester of pregnancy, decides to drive up to Vermont alone. After she is told she is the sole heir for the woman’s estate, Lily decides to go to the property to try to figure out how she is connected to the deceased. Lily is befriended by a local Indian girl named Abey who stands by her while it seems that the whole town is out to get her. Fearing for her safety after several attacks on her property as well as herself, she considers leaving town, but as she discovers more and more about her ancestors, her curiosity clouds her better judgment. What is the connection between her family and the local Indian tribe? What significance does this property hold to the tribe? And to what lengths are they willing to go to get it back?