We track local, state, and national news coverage and editorials about issues important to the tribes in Maine. Find excerpts from 2023 media coverage below. For more news from the Wabanaki Alliance, visit Latest News on our homepage, our Archive, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
At Wabanaki rally for supporters, tribal leaders say ‘time is on our side’
Maine Public
July 14, 2023
Leaders of the Wabanaki Nations gathered with supporters in Freeport on Thursday night for a “celebration,” one week after a high-profile bill was blocked by Gov. Janet Mills. But as tribal and legislative leaders made clear repeatedly, they viewed the recent vote as a temporary setback, not a defeat.
Legislature can begin to heal tribal-state relations by overriding governor’s veto
A guest editorial by Donna Loring, a Penobscot Nation tribal elder and former Penobscot Nation representative to the Maine Legislature, and Eric Mehnert, the chief judge of the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court.
Bangor Daily News
July 4, 2023
It is deeply concerning to read the misinformation it appears may have guided the Gov. Janet Mills’ recent veto of LD 2004. This bipartisan legislation would recognize some tribal sovereign rights of the tribes in Maine placing them on equal footing with the rest of Indian Country. With due respect, we believe the governor’s response to LD 2004 misunderstands the U.S. Constitution, the development of federal Indian law in accord with the Constitution and the history of tribal-state relations in Maine.
On tribal rights, Republicans need to declare their independence from Janet Mills
A guest editorial by John Andrews of Paris represents District 79 in the Maine House of Representatives. He is a co-sponsor of LD 2004.
Bangor Daily News
July 3, 2023
Together as a state, we can reforge the bright chain of friendship that was crafted centuries ago between the People of the Dawn and those American rebels fighting for their own independence on the banks of the Delaware River. The tribes had our backs then, and it’s time we had theirs now.
Commentary: Maine Legislature should override Mills’ veto of tribal sovereignty bill
Portland Press Herald
July 2, 2023
How is it that every other state in the country with Indian tribes can accommodate the tribes in their states as being under federal jurisdiction, but here in Maine, our governor and her legal counsel find it too difficult?
Maine House supermajority backs tribal-rights expansion opposed by Janet Mills
Bangor Daily News
June 21, 2023
A key tribal-rights expansion narrowly cleared a major hurdle on Wednesday by winning two-thirds support in the Maine House of Representatives, increasing the odds that it can survive a likely veto from Gov. Janet Mills. It was a victory for tribes and House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, a leading progressive who has aggressively taken on her party’s governor on this subject in recent weeks and needed to woo Republicans to advance her bill. Mills dug in against the measure while lawmakers expedited it to the chamber floors over the past week.
House overwhelmingly supports tribal bill opposed by Gov. Mills
Portland Press Herald
June 21, 2023
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a bill that would allow four Indigenous tribes to benefit from more federal laws, setting up a possible confrontation with the governor. The bill was approved by a 100-47 vote, indicating enough support to overcome a possible veto from the governor. The bill now advances to the Senate, which is expected to take up the bill later today.
House speaker says new bill will make Maine tribes ‘economic engines’ that will benefit entire state
Spectrum News
May 31, 2023
Tribal leaders implored lawmakers Wednesday to give them a sense of certainty when it comes to federal laws that may benefit their citizens. The leaders of Maine’s four tribes told the Judiciary Committee that they are often ineligible for benefits that help all other Indigenous people — 570 tribes — across the country. “The problems the Wabanaki Nations face are not different from the issues other tribes face, but our exclusion from federal beneficial laws has handicapped our ability to adequately respond,” said Passamaquoddy Chief Rena Newell.
Wabanaki sovereignty would benefit all Maine residents, study finds
The consistent underdevelopment of the Wabanaki tribes in Maine has risen to the level of UN human rights violations, argues a Harvard scholar.
The Maine Monitor
April 29, 2023
Maine is leaving more than $300 million a year on the table and contributing to child poverty rates of up to 76.9 percent in tribal households by continuing to uphold the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (MICSA). The consistent underdevelopment of the Wabanaki tribes in the state due to MICSA has risen to the level of UN human rights violations. These findings were outlined by Joseph Kalt of the Harvard Kennedy School on April 11 during an online presentation hosted by the Maine Philanthropy Center.
Settlement act has left a legacy of inequity
A guest editorial by Sonja Birthisel and Rob Laraway, town councilors in Orono; Dina Yacoubagha and Joe Leonard, city councilors in Bangor; and Brad Sealfon, a select board member in Prospect. .
Bangor Daily News
April 27, 2023
Now is the time for thoughtful debate on how to address these challenges facing our Wabanaki neighbors and our state, not for fear-mongering. We have a collective interest in protecting our environment and ensuring that our children and families are safe, healthy, and economically secure. It is only by working together that we can secure a better future for tribal and non-tribal members alike.
Commentary: Gov. Mills seeks to perpetuate Maine control of Wabanaki nations
A guest editorial by John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance.
Portland Press Herald
April 15, 2023
A recent op-ed by Gov. Janet Mills’ attorney claimed that the governor was committed to political progress with Wabanaki Nations. This claim is an illusion: The governor’s idea of progress is ensuring that she maintains control over the tribes in Maine. Mills refuses to place the Wabanaki tribes in Maine on the same footing as other federally recognized tribes across the country.
Our View: Gov. Mills must outline thinking on tribal rights
The governor’s opposition to proposals like the latest one, involving tribal treaty language in the state Constitution, has been more or less sustained. Equally sustained is bafflement as to why.
March 10, 2023
From this editorial from the Portland Press Herald Editorial Board:
“Political momentum continues to build on the matter of tribal sovereignty; the hearing regarding the constitutional changes will shortly be followed by a State of the Tribes address before a joint session of the Legislature. In this climate Mills is facing down not only tribal representatives and advocates but, increasingly (and, perhaps, increasingly progressive), peers in government as well as large parts of her base.”
Tribes in Maine left out of Native American resurgence by 40-year-old federal law denying their self-determination
The Conversation
February 14, 2023
Hundreds of the 574 federally recognized Indian nations in the U.S. now routinely provide their citizens with the full array of services customarily expected from state and local governments, from tax collection to environmental protection regulations. At the same time, many tribes are becoming the economic engines of their regions. All this has happened over the past several decades under federal policies that, unlike previous policies, support tribal self-determination through self-government.
As a new legislature begins, Wabanaki tribes hope a long elusive goal is within reach
Maine Public
January 4, 2023
Tribes in Maine say they’ve received an unprecedented amount of support from state lawmakers in recent years. Exclusive rights to online sports betting. Legislation to address longstanding water quality issues for the Passamaquoddy tribe. The Wabanaki Alliance, tribal members, state lawmakers and others gathered in Augusta Tuesday night — on the eve Gov. Janet Mills’ second-term inauguration — to celebrate several years of legislative progress.
