Dr. Dr. Jeanne Anne Brink

N'mikwaldamnana ("We remember")

Jeanne Anne (DeForge) Obomsawin Brink

November 12, 1944 – August 5, 2025

Dr. Jeanne Anne Brink, D.A. (h.c.), known affectionately by her Abenaki friends as "Azôniz", and "Mom" and "Gram" by her loving family, crossed into the spirit world on the evening of Tuesday August 5, 2025, at her residence in Madisonville, TN. Jeanne departed this life just as she enjoyed living it: in the presence of her loved ones. Her passage from the physical to the spiritual world was done so in the loving hands of her husband of fifty-four years and her beloved son.

The story of Azoniz's remarkable life on this earth began 80 years ago. Born Jeanne Anne DeForge on November 12, 1944, in Montpelier, VT, to the late Nettie (Royce) DeForge (Miles) and Charles DeForge, Jeanne grew up in Berlin, the eldest of four children. A direct descendant of the Obomsawin family of Thompson's Point, VT, an Abenaki family known for their fine craftsmanship, especially in basketmaking, Jeanne's family proudly traced their Abenaki ancestry back hundreds of years. Her great-grandfather, Simon Obomsawin, was born on the Odanak Reserve in St. Francis, Quebec, and later settled with his family on the shores of Lake Champlain in the early-1900s. As a child, Jeanne grew up watching her grandmother, Elvine Obomsawin Royce, and her great aunts weaving fancy ash splint and sweetgrass baskets, a tradition dating back centuries. During her childhood and adolescence, Jeanne recalled hearing her grandmother and other relatives speaking in their native Western Abenaki tongue – memories that left a lasting imprint on her life.

A naturally gifted student, Jeanne graduated from Montpelier High School in 1962. After graduating high school, Jeanne began working for the Civil Service Office in Montpelier during the height of the Vietnam War. She married the love of her life, Douglas "Doug" Brink, on August 28, 1971. Together, Jeanne and Doug raised three children: John Edwin Brink, Jeannette Rae Brink, and James Allen Brink. The family later moved to Cabot, VT, where Jeanne worked as an Administrative Assistant at the Vermont College School of Nursing. After her children "left the nest", Jeanne pursued her own education. While working full time, Jeanne still managed to excel in her studies at Vermont College of Norwich University where she earned in rapid succession her Associates degree in Administrative Assistance, a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Liberal Arts, and finally a Master's of Arts degree in Native American Studies.

Jeanne's hunger to learn more about the history, culture, and lifeways of her Abenaki ancestors inspired her to pursue a career later in life as a storyteller, activist, and most notably, a gifted basketmaker and teacher. In 1986, at the age of 42, Jeanne began her formal training in Abenaki basketry. She was the first recipient of the Arts Apprenticeship Program from the Vermont Folklife Center, an organization with whom she maintained close ties for the rest of her life. Jeanne spent two years at the Odanak Reserve in Quebec studying under Sophie Nolett, an Abenaki elder and decorated basketmaker. Following in the footsteps of her grandmother and great aunts, Jeanne wove together her Indigenous heritage and her own artistic genius in the dozens of fine baskets that she stitched over the course of her four decade career. A beacon of creativity and knowledge, Jeanne's mission to preserve the cultural traditions of the Abenaki decorative arts led her to train 27 apprentices, including her eldest son, John. All of Jeanne's apprentices were of Abenaki descent – a sacred tradition she longed to pass down to other People of the Dawn.

Jeanne committed her later life to preserving and advancing the Abenaki cause and the rights of Indigenous peoples in New England. In the early-1990s, she worked alongside the renowned Dartmouth ethnologist, Dr. Gordon Day, to compile Alnôbaôdwa!: A Western Abenaki Language Guide which included a published language guide and audio cassette tape, published in 1990. Though Dr. Day passed away before the publication of the first volume of the Western Abenaki Dictionary, Jeanne, with the help of his family, later completed the first English to Abenaki and Abenaki to English dictionaries in 1994 and 1995 (published by the Canadian Museum of History). Jeanne went on to lead several Abenaki language camps, and with her son, husband, and cousin, co-founded the Traditional Wabanaki Dance Group. In 2006, Jeanne collaborated with her friend Dr. Marge Bruchac to write the children's book Malian's Song, a book based on eyewitness account of Roger's Raid, a deliberate attack by English soldiers on the St. Francis Abenaki community in 1759. A direct descendant of Malian, a young Abenaki girl who survived this brutal attack, Jeanne shared the story of her ancestor's strength and perseverance in the face of unimaginable loss which had been passed down to her through oral tradition by her grandmother. In 2018, the Board of Trustees of Middlebury College recognized her contributions to the Abenaki arts as a master basketmaker and historian by awarding her an honorary Doctorate of Arts degree. With a proud smile, she would later joke with her grandchildren to call her "Doctor Grandma".

Outside of her activism and basketmaking, Jeanne greatly enjoyed spending time with her loved ones, especially her grandchildren. In retirement, Jeanne and her husband Doug attended powwows and traveled the United States in their fifth wheel RV, bringing along their rambunctious grandchildren and other loved ones whenever time allowed. "Gram" was also a master blueberry pancake maker. A proponent of self-care, Jeanne also loved to pamper herself by going to get her hair and nails done on a weekly basis. She loved reading, savoring sweet treats, and anything arts and crafts related. She was not one to sit still for long.

A longtime resident of Barre, VT, Jeanne relocated to Madisonville, TN, several years ago to be closer to family. She is survived by many loving relatives and friends: her sisters Joanie Holmes (Larry) of Madisonville, TN, and Joyce Barlett of Sweetwater, TN; her brother Jeff DeForge (Susan) of Adamant, VT; her daughter Jeannette Gray (Chris) of Dothan, AL; and her son James "Jim" Brink of Madisonville, TN. Jeanne is also survived by seven grandchildren: Jeffrey Flood; Jason Brink; Tyler Brink; Jeremy Pacatte; Jesicanne "Jessa" Pacatte-Scott (Sam); Jerrad Pacatte; Colby Thompson; and three great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her mother and father, the late Nettie (Royce) DeForge Miles and Charles DeForge, and her beloved son, the late John Edwin Brink, of Lunnenburg, VT.

A celebration of life honoring Jeanne's life and legacy will be shared publicly at a later date. May Azôniz ane her artistic spirit wander freely with the ancestors in the next life. Wlipamkanni.