Record number support tribal sovereignty bill

With over 1,500 people submitting testimony to a legislative committee -- possibly a record number -- in favor of an omnibus bill to restore tribal sovereignty, Governor Janet Mills' office may have felt a bit alone as the only voice in opposition. The governor, though, is supportive of much more limited measures to support the tribes that were the subject of another hearing in the state legislature.
The February 15 hearing before the legislature's Judiciary Committee lasted throughout the day, as over 100 Maine residents attended the virtual hearing on the bill, which has been endorsed by more than 100 organizations in the state. Listening in on the testimony were the students at the three tribal elementary schools.
The bill, which was considered by the legislature last year but did not advance, would reframe the relationship between the state and tribes and enact the consensus recommendations of a task force that considered changes to the state act that implemented the federal Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. It would establish that the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseets have the same rights and powers as other federally recognized tribes in the U.S., which is a significant change from the current law, which provides the state with much of the authority over tribal affairs.
The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross of Portland, noted in her testimony that the settlement act was supposed to focus on resolving the claims made by the tribes to much of the lands in Maine but ended up turning "into an effort by the state to severely limit the inherent sovereign rights to the tribal nations in order to prevent a 'nation within a nation' scheme and inconvenience the state's jurisdictional authority. The past 40 years of living under the settlement act system have shown that the state has benefited far more from the system than the tribes." The bill would "restore back to the tribal nations much of their governmental jurisdiction over their reservation and trust lands, as recommended by the task force." Noting that provisions in the bill scare some people, Talbot Ross stated, "Rather than continue to see the tribal nations as enemies or a threat to our state government, I see LD 1626 as an opportunity to partner with our tribal nations and work with them on a government-to-government basis to develop progress for all the communities within this state." She added that state governments that "have embraced their tribal nations and developed productive and meaningful political relationships with them have seen those relationships bring progress to the entire state."
A number of people who testified stated that the tribes in Maine should have the same rights as 570 other tribes in the country and that the Wabanaki tribes have not benefited from more than 160 federal laws because of limitations set in the settlement act.
Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis noted that the effort to reframe the relationship between the state and the tribes has not only been a substantive process but also an emotional one, as several speakers verged on tears during their testimony. He pointed to some examples of how the settlement act has undermined the ability of the tribes to provide services to their communities, stating, "We have been excluded from the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, even though Maine has authorized two casinos to exist in the state; we have been excluded from the federal Stafford Act, which would allow us to directly access federal disaster assistance funds; we have been excluded from portions of the Violence Against Women Act, which would have restored back to us the power to prosecute non-Indians who commit domestic violence on tribal lands and provided us with federal funding to strengthen our law enforcement systems; and we have been excluded from portions of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which allows tribes to employ medical professionals licensed in other states." Rep. Talbot Ross had noted the federal government allows all tribal nations to hire medical professionals that are licensed by any state, while Maine requires they only hire Maine-licensed professionals. The conflict has led to the Passamaquoddy Tribe continuing to struggle to recruit medical professionals to work at its health clinic at Sipayik.
Chief Francis also observed, "The Wabanaki nations have spent the past 40 years being treated like second-class sovereigns. We have watched out-of-state corporations come in and thrive by doing the very things that we should be able to do but for the settlement acts." He added, "The restrictions on our inherent powers and authorities have caused our communities to be stagnant and struggle to progress." Unlike the government of Maine, the federal government "has embraced the concept of self-determination" and has realized "that when tribal nations thrive, so do the surrounding non-tribal communities."
For the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik, Chief Elizabeth "Maggie" Dana said that the delay in implementing the task force's recommendations has meant that "we continue to get brown water coming out of the tap during certain times of the year. It means parents will not bathe their children in the water pumped to their homes. We continue to deliver bottled water to students because the water is not safe to drink." A new well could provide water directly to the school, but because of the settlement act there is "no clear answer as to whether the state, the tribe or the Environmental Protection Agency should be regulating that water source," she stated.
Chief Dana noted that the tribe is dealing with the economic and health impacts of the pandemic, along with other issues that the community faces every day. "We need the ability to govern in the same way that other federally recognized tribes manage their lands and resources across our country," she stated. "I know that we will make it through these challenging times because the Wabanaki people are a resilient people. We have survived despite displacement, sicknesses, poverty, trauma and war. We survived, but we have paid a severe price over many, many generations. We continue to pay that price." The bill seeks "to right many wrongs that occurred in our past and restore our sovereignty. While we must never forget the past, we must work together to build a better future for our tribal communities and for all people in Maine."
Vice Chief Darrell Newell of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township noted that he often heard in the legislature, as the task force's recommendations were being discussed, that the tribes want special status. He observed that, under the settlement act, "the only special status we have is having access to less federal legal protections and opportunities than other federally recognized tribes in this country. That's no special status I want."
"Bits and pieces of limited sovereignty, which is what we currently have, is not sovereignty at all," Vice Chief Newell stated. "It's insulting to know that the natives in this state have less rights than natives in other places just because the State of Maine insists that it be this way."
As the only one testifying in opposition, Gerald Reid, chief legal counsel for Governor Janet Mills, stated that the legislature, in amending the Maine Implementing Act, "should proceed carefully and only when it has confidence that the meaning and potential consequences of the amendments are thoroughly understood." He argued that the language in any amendments needs to be explicitly clear and added that the governor "is not necessarily opposed" to amending the implementing act. "But when amendments are being considered, it's critical that we avoid ambiguous language that could lead to future conflict or litigation."
Supporters of the bill included allies of the tribes and many Maine residents, along with members of the business and environmental communities, healthcare and religious organizations. John Manganello of the Baskahegan Company, which manages timberlands in northern Washington County and southern Aroostook County, stated, "The Passamaquoddy, Penobscot Nation and Houlton Band of Maliseet should enjoy the rights, privileges, powers, duties and immunities similar to the other 570 federally recognized Native tribes within the United States." And Sarah Woodbury of Defend Our Health commented, "The issue of tribal sovereignty impacts tribal communities in many ways, including health impacts. A study done in 2015 at the University of Southern Maine showed a lack of tribal sovereignty has led to high levels of anxiety and depression within the Wabanaki tribes. The study showed that restoration of cultural traditions and practices could be an important strategy in relation to the depression and anxiety experienced in Wabanaki communities and expect that, over time, this could result in improved health outcomes."
Barbara Brown of the Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network stated, "This bill restores Wabanaki jurisdiction in four primary areas which under the 1980 act have been suppressed: land acquisition, court jurisdiction, regulation of natural resources, and taxation." And Maureen Drouin of the Environmental Priorities Coalition commented that the Wabanaki tribes "are excluded from federal legislation that ensures tribes' inherent rights to govern themselves and have not benefited from over 150 federal Indian Laws passed since the Maine acts. These benefits include funding for clean drinking water, river protection and environmental restoration projects, which would help not just the tribes but also the rural Maine communities that neighbor them."
A work session to further consider the bill will be held by the Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks, before it votes on whether to recommend the measure to the legislature.