Tribe alleges harassment at border stations

Allegations of harassment of Passamaquoddys at border crossings into Canada might be seen as an inconvenience to non-Natives, but some members of the tribe view the reports as another step in the path by the Canadian government to write the tribe out of existence. Referring to the Canadian government's actions as a genocide of the Passamaquoddy, Hugh Akagi of St. Andrews, chief of the St. Croix Schoodic Band of Passamaquoddy, states, "They've been destroying our territory, our traditional culture, the rights of our people ( that's genocide."
Mary Bassett, a Passamaquoddy elder from Sipayik, agrees. "We have to feel that we're fighting genocide." She notes that there have been 14 deaths of Passamaquoddys this year, and a number were drug-related. "It's a life-and-death struggle."
Reports of Passamaquoddys having trouble crossing the border into Canada began cropping up this summer. Denise Altvater, director of the American Friends Service Committee's Wabanaki Youth Program, relates several recent instances of the difficulties the tribal members have faced. Last summer Passamaquoddys had tried to cross the border to attend the funeral of a family member at a reserve in New Brunswick, but one of them was told she had to pay $200 for a 24-hour pass to attend the funeral, because she once was charged with a non-felony offense, although she wasn't convicted. Another time, family from Maine had tried to cross to travel to the Tobique reserve, where a family member was dying. One of the Passamaquoddys, though, was denied entry into Canada because he had a previous OUI conviction. Passamaquoddys, including a former chief, recently have been strip searched at the Canadian border crossing, and a Passamaquoddy who was finishing a law degree at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton "was harassed at the border" so much that she left UNB and enrolled at the University of Maine, Altvater says.
Passamaquoddys trying to cross the border into Canada are now being told that their tribal ID cards are not sufficient identification for entry into the country. Other tribes, including Micmacs and Maliseets, are not reporting harassment at the border, though.

Legal issues considered
At a meeting organized at Sipayik on December 4 to discuss the issue and to consider how to respond, Newell Lewey, a Passamaquoddy from Sipayik, commented, "It's time for us to say, 'We're going to make our own rules as a sovereign people.'" Other governments, then, would have to petition the tribe, in tribal courts, to seek any changes. "For over 200 years we've been following their chain of command. They claim that we have sovereign rights but that we don't exercise them," he said, adding, "For over 235 years these rights have been eroding away. Maybe the border is just one more right being taken away. We have to stop it somewhere and reestablish ourselves as a sovereign people."
Pat Paul from the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, who publishes the Wulustuk Times, urged, "We have to force the issue. We have a legal right to pass this way and back. This was not the white country. This was the red country. We were like the rocks and rivers of this land. You can't just remove them."
"The Passamaquoddy speak the same language as the Maliseet, which shows we were all united at one time. Then the border divided us," he said. "The border is the white man's figment of the imagination that there's a division there. There isn't."
The Passamaquoddy are a tribe whose traditional territory stretches from Mount Desert Island in Maine to Lepreau in New Brunswick, and the U.S./Canada border splits the territory in two. Although the tribe has land claims in New Brunswick, it has not been accorded First Nation status by the Canadian government.
Hugh Akagi observed, "The issue is the recognition of the Passamaquoddy in Canada." While the Micmacs and Maliseets are recognized by the Canadian government, the Passamaquoddy and Penobscots are not.
In their efforts to gain legal status as a First Nation in Canada, the Passamaquoddy have been asked to prove that they've maintained a society in the country. While they've produced research showing that the tribe has a long history in Canada, the Canadian government questions whether the tribe has maintained a community there, Akagi said. "We had three reserves in Canada, and now they're asking us to prove we're a community." Although the tribe no longer has a reserve in Canada, he said tribal members have maintained a community by going to the reservations in Maine and bringing the culture back with them to Canada.
Akagi maintains that the current Conservative government of Canada is "playing a game of stall." He commented, "We have to take this to another level. This government won't help us," adding, "We've been divided as a people for 200 years, and nobody's helping us."
Canada did recently agree to endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but Akagi commented that the government's acceptance was conditional on the declaration not interfering with Canadian law. "Their acceptance of the declaration isn't really acceptance at all."
The UN declaration sets out a number of principles to guide cooperative relationships between indigenous peoples and states, such as equality, partnership, good faith and mutual respect. The declaration was adopted at the UN in 2007, with the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand the only countries to vote in opposition. Australia and New Zealand have since endorsed the statement, and on November 12 of this year Canada endorsed it, leaving the U.S. as the only country that has not endorsed the UN declaration. Paul believes that the U.S. has not endorsed the declaration because "they're the biggest perpetrator of land grabs and genocide."
Concerning treaties that give Native peoples the right to travel freely within their territory, Akagi maintains that Canada selectively chooses the sections to follow of the Jay Treaty and the Treaty of Ghent, and has decided not to respect the section that states that Native peoples have the right to travel freely.

Changes in border requirements
Previously, Passamaquoddys have had difficulties entering into the U.S., but after Passamaquoddy representatives met with David Lumbert, the port director in Calais for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, those issues have been cleared up.
According to Joanne Ferreira, chief of the media relations division of the Office of Public Affairs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C., Passamaquoddy and other tribal identification cards are currently being accepted for entry into the U.S. because of some flexibility in implementing the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). As of June 1, 2009, WHTI requires all travelers to show a valid passport or other approved secure document when traveling to the U.S. from areas within the Western Hemisphere. In time, tribal documents will need to be able to be scanned and will have to denote identification and citizenship and include certain security features. Five tribes in the U.S. have signed agreements to develop tribal cards that are in compliance with the U.S. government's requirements, but the Passamaquoddy Tribe has not yet signed an agreement. Grant funding is available to assist the tribes in developing the enhanced tribal ID cards.
A statement released by Joel MacDougall of Atlantic Region media relations for the Canada Border Services Agency says that all permanent residents and Canadian citizens are encouraged to carry proper identification when traveling to and from Canada. Proper identification includes a Canadian birth certificate, a Canadian passport, a permanent residence card, a citizenship card or a certificate of Indian status. Every person registered as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act can enter and remain in Canada by right. The Secure Certificate of Indian Status (SCIS) is an identity document issued by the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) confirming that the cardholder is registered as a status Indian under the Indian Act.
The statement says, "Native American Indians are accorded entry to Canada by right, if they are registered on the Canadian Band Lists. Virtually all members of the Indian nations whose traditional lands straddle the border are entitled to be registered under the Indian Act, and once they have exercised this option, they may enter Canada by right. The following U.S. documents may be used to establish identity and status for Native American Indians: Enhanced Tribal Card, when available, and Form I-872 American Indian Card."
However, while U.S. Customs is recognizing the Passamaquoddy identification cards, Canada is not, since the Passamaquoddy are not considered "status Indians." Akagi says he was told by a customs officers that the cards were not being recognized for entry into Canada because they are not issued in Canada. He then asked the officers why they recognized U.S. passports, since they aren't issued by Canada. "Canada gets to stamp us with a number to say we're an Indian. In Germany, they stamped people with a number to say they were a Jew."
"Canada is very afraid of the issues we've brought up," said gkisedtanamoogk. "They're afraid I'm not in Canada when I travel in Canada, that I'm in Wabanaki land."

Strategies developed
Suggestions by those at the December 4 meeting included having a think tank comprised of attorneys, elders and scholars examine the treaties and develop a policy and work with the Maine congressional delegation to put pressure on Canada. It was also suggested that the Passamaquoddy find out what other tribes in the U.S. and Canada are doing on this issue and work with them. Getting the support of elected and traditional tribal leaders was also urged. MITSC will be meeting with tribal leaders from Maine in January and will discuss the issue with them then. In addition, the Passamaquoddy have two seats, one representing the U.S. side and one the Canadian side, on the Assembly of First Nations' Atlantic Policy Congress, but the U.S. seat is not presently filled. Akagi suggested that the seat be filled to demonstrate the unity of the tribe.
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will be meeting at the UN headquarters in New York in May, and an effort will be made for Passamaquoddys to attend to bring up this issue. Other avenues suggested include the World Court or a citizens' tribunal.