Archive

View our post archive below to find links to current and previous updates from the Wabanaki Alliance. We also track local, state and national news coverage of issues important to the Wabanaki tribes in Maine. Find a selection of that media coverage in our In the News list.

Tribal Issues in the News

Tribal Issues in the News

Read some of the latest news coverage of Wabanaki issues, including an editorial by the Bangor Daily News Editorial Board that celebrates Wabanaki veterans and stories about the new Wabanaki Alliance Media & Style Guide.

read more
131st Maine Legislature Scorecard Released

131st Maine Legislature Scorecard Released

The Wabanaki Alliance has released its legislative scorecard for the 131st session of the Maine State Legislature, an analysis and compilation of votes on Wabanaki-related bills tracked by the organization as part of the alliance’s commitment to educating the people of Maine on issues of tribal sovereignty. Learn more and check your legislators’ ratings in our House and Senate Scorecards.

read more
131st Maine Legislature Scorecard

131st Maine Legislature Scorecard

This scorecard is for the first and second sessions of the 131st Maine Legislature. Read more about our priority bills and related legislative votes and check your legislators’ ratings in our House and Senate Scorecards.

read more
Indigenous Peoples Day in Maine, 5 years later

Indigenous Peoples Day in Maine, 5 years later

The Alliance published two Wabanaki Voices columns in October. This first one offers a look back on the five years since the law officially designating Indigenous Peoples Day was passed. It was written by Maulian Bryant, former Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador and incoming Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance.

read more
Join the Wabanaki Alliance Coalition

Join the Wabanaki Alliance Coalition

Some 300 businesses and organizations that support Wabanaki inherent sovereignty have joined the Wabanaki Alliance Tribal Coalition! See the list of members and find out how your organization or business can help advance the work of the Wabanaki Alliance!

read more
Wabanaki Alliance Seeks Executive Director

Wabanaki Alliance Seeks Executive Director

The Wabanaki Alliance is seeking an executive director to provide leadership to the organization, work with the Alliance board, oversee daily operations of the organization and maintain and enhance the many varied relationships and partnerships enjoyed by the Wabanaki Alliance.

read more
July 11 Event to Celebrate Friendships and Alliances

July 11 Event to Celebrate Friendships and Alliances

The Wabanaki Alliance will host our second annual Nihkaniyane: Let’s Go Forward Together event, a celebration of our friendships and alliances, on the evening of Thursday, July 11th in the backyard at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor. Learn more and see the current Host Committee list.

read more
The Time-Honored Valor and Sacrifice of Wabanaki Veterans

The Time-Honored Valor and Sacrifice of Wabanaki Veterans

This month’s Wabanaki Voices column focuses on the Wabanaki Confederacy’s long and storied history of military service. It was written by Donna Loring, who served in the Women’s Army Corp from 1967-1968 and former Maine House representative for the Penobscot Nation, and Donald Soctomah, who represented the Passamaquoddy Tribe in the Legislature from 2006-2010, serves as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and founded the Passamaquoddy Cultural Heritage Museum.

read more
Wabanaki stewardship of the land benefits all

Wabanaki stewardship of the land benefits all

This month’s Wabanaki Voices column focuses on recent collaborations between conservation groups and Indigenous peoples across the world, including here in the place we now call Maine. It was written by Dr. Darren Ranco, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, chair of Native American Programs and coordinator of Native American Research at the University of Maine, and a member of the Planning Team for the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship.

read more
Wabanaki Alliance Media & Style Guide

Wabanaki Alliance Media & Style Guide

The Wabanaki Alliance has launched a new media and style guide with common sense approaches to writing accurately and respectfully regarding Wabanaki people, history, land, and culture.

read more
LD 2007 Talking Points

LD 2007 Talking Points

Find talking points for letters to the editor or conversations with your legislators, friends, and neighbors on LD 2007, a bill that would make specific changes to the criminal jurisdiction provisions of the 1980 Maine Implementing Act and the Mi’kmaq Nation Restoration Act.

read more
Amended LD 2007 would bolster Wabanaki Nations’ power to protect our citizens

Amended LD 2007 would bolster Wabanaki Nations’ power to protect our citizens

This month’s Wabanaki Voices column in the Bangor Daily News focuses on how the amended version of LD 2007 would establish stronger tribal courts. Authors include Maulian Bryant, Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador and President of the Wabanaki Alliance; Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald, Houlton Band of Maliseets Tribal Ambassador; Aaron Dana, Passamaquoddy Nation Tribal Representative; Rena Newell, Sipayik citizen; and Richard Silliboy, Vice Chief of the Mi’kmaq Nation.

read more
Take Action to Support LD 2007!

Take Action to Support LD 2007!

LD 2007, a bill to restore inherent tribal sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations, has a hearing February 26. Find all you need to learn more about the bill, draft your testimony, contact your legislators, write a letter to the editor and more in our LD 2007 Take Action Toolkit!

read more
With LD 2007, Maine can recognize Wabanaki self-determination

With LD 2007, Maine can recognize Wabanaki self-determination

The first installment in the Bangor Daily News’ monthly column Wabanaki Voices offers background on efforts to restore inherent tribal sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations. It was written by Kirk Francis, Chief of the Penobscot Nation, Clarissa Sabattis, Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and Edward Peter Paul, Chief of the Mi’kmaq Nation.

read more
Top 10 Takeaways from the Harvard Study

Top 10 Takeaways from the Harvard Study

A 2022 report by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development detailed economic opportunities lost to the Wabanaki Nations due to the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. We’ve compiled the top 10 takeaways from that report.

read more
Understanding Tribal Sovereignty

Understanding Tribal Sovereignty

Use this resource to learn more about tribal sovereignty and the Wabanaki Nations’ inherent right to self-governance and what you can do to support Wabanaki sovereignty.

read more
Year in Review: A Look Back at 2023

Year in Review: A Look Back at 2023

Our Year in Review highlights the past year’s accomplishments, events, and actions undertaken by the Wabanaki Alliance and our Coalition of nearly 200 advocacy groups, businesses, and faith-based organizations.

read more
Write a Letter to the Editor

Write a Letter to the Editor

Letters to the editor can help persuade legislators to pass legislation or change policy. Our LTE Guide offers tips to get your started and a list of newspapers.

read more
Mainers Overwhelmingly Support Question 6

Mainers Overwhelmingly Support Question 6

Maine voters overwhelmingly passed Question 6 yesterday, approving the amendment to the Maine Constitution with 74% of the vote. The Maine Constitution will now be printed in full for the first time since 1875.

read more
“Yes on Question 6” on Maine’s Editorial Pages

“Yes on Question 6” on Maine’s Editorial Pages

Editorial pages in newspapers across the state are carrying editorials, guest op-eds, and letters in support of Question 6, demonstrating the broad support of the constitutional amendment to print all of Maine’s constitution, including original tribal treaties that have been omitted from printed versions for more than 100 years.

read more
Help Pass Question 6 in November!

Help Pass Question 6 in November!

On November 7, Maine voters have an opportunity to Vote Yes on Question 6, a constitutional amendment that would require the state to print the full text of the Maine State Constitution, including a section about Maine’s original treaty obligations to the Wabanaki Nations. Find out what you can do to help the Wabanaki Alliance pass this important constitutional amendment.

read more
2023 State House Legislative Victories

2023 State House Legislative Victories

The Wabanaki Alliance set a number of legislative priorities for the 131st Maine Legislature, including three measures that are now law and one that advanced a constitutional amendment to the Nov. 7 ballot that was overwhelmingly approved by Maine voters.

read more
July 13 Event to Celebrate Alliances

July 13 Event to Celebrate Alliances

The Wabanaki Alliance will hold “Nihkaniyane: Let’s Go Forward Together” Thursday, July 13 at the Mallet Barn in Freeport, Wolfe’s Neck Center, to celebrate the strong alliances we’ve built since our inception in 2020. Learn more and purchase your ticket here.

read more