Lampman advocated that the tribe take a more aggressive stance in pushing its claim to "all of Vermont as well as parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.
"[5] By then, St. Francis estimated the tribe's claim area as "all of Vermont, all of New Hampshire, and parts of northern Massachusetts, western Maine, upstate New York and southern Quebec.
"[4][7] By September 12, 1990, several title insurance companies in Vermont attempted to amend their standard policy contracts (an action that requires approval from the state banking department) to exclude a potential Abenaki claim from coverage.
"[10] The court concluded that "a series of historical events, beginning with the Wentworth Grants of 1763, and ending with Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791, extinguished the aboriginal rights claimed here.
According to Joseph William Singer, a professor at Harvard Law School: [I]t defies both precedent and the longstanding policy of protecting Indian title to conclude that Congress, by the simple admission of Vermont to the Union, casually obliterated all Abenaki title in the State of Vermont, whether currently settled by non-Indians or inhabited by Abenakis.
The functional result of Elliot is that courts will weigh the cumulative effects of a sovereign's action over a long time—say, 200 years.
[15] The original recognition act provided: This chapter shall not be construed to recognize, create, extend, or form the basis of any right or claim to land or real estate in Vermont for the Abenaki people or any Abenaki individual and shall be construed to confer only those rights specifically described in this chapter.
[17]The amendment bill also added the following language: State-recognized Native American Indian tribes and their members will continue to be subject to all laws of the state, and recognition shall not be construed to create any basis or authority for tribes to establish or promote any form of prohibited gambling activity or to claim any interest in land or real estate in Vermont.