Tribe cites sovereignty in debate over church building restoration

The discussion was respectful but firm from Passamaquoddy tribal members at the November 20 meeting to consider the fate of St. Ann's Catholic Church at Sipayik -- both the church building itself and the 15 stained glass windows in the church and four in the connected convent. Tribal elder Hilda Lewis had asked for the meeting after a letter written by the church's pastor, the Reverend Kevin Martin, suggested that the windows needed to be removed from the church by qualified contractors specializing in this type of work and stored on parish property. The company that would do the work, DICON, would place insulated wood inserts in place of the windows to protect the interior of the buildings. The windows themselves would be boxed in specially made crates to protect them from further damage.
Fr. Martin was at the meeting and ready to answer questions. He said, "The removal of the windows is based on the reality that the framing is rotting and rusting." A number of the windows are leaning in or out of their frames, not only jeopardizing the integrity of the windows but also creating a risk of injury to people. However, tribal members present were adamant that the windows should not leave Pleasant Point.
"I don't trust anybody taking those windows off this place. It's not a good idea," said Annette Sockabasin. "They'll get lost in the cracks," she added. Another woman in the audience said, "Our people have lost a lot of things over the years. There should be another way around from taking them from us." She added that many elders had worked hard with "their sweat, blood and tears to make that church."
Linda Lingley brought the wider question of the church's fate to the floor. "Why are we still in the process of trying to get the church restored? It's been four to five years. We're all willing in the community." While estimates for the restoration of the church range from $1 million to $2 million or more, Lewis and her son, Darel Bridges, have been working with other tribal members to form a nonprofit, the Friends of St. Ann's, that would be used for fundraising for the restoration of the church, a possible community center to replace the unrestorable convent, and create a maintenance fund. Part of their planning is based on a 2013 engineering and architectural study of the church and convent that Bridges spearheaded and that was done under the auspices of the National Park Service as an Historic Preservation Fund project.
It seemed that the barrier to restoration is the diocesan process, with Fr. Martin explaining that he and the church had to follow established procedures. He would need a clear proposal to present to the bishop, and if accepted, the fundraising could begin.
At this point Chief Marla Dana stepped in and told him, "I want to tell the bishop that we are going to do it -- fundraise. If he has a problem he can come here and talk to us." She added, "I'm done. I was done yesterday [at a previous meeting about the same subject]. I know you have to go by certain things. But I'm not concerned with the diocese. I'm concerned with St. Ann's Church."
Cliv Dore, a former tribal chief, built on the feeling in the room. "We are a sovereign nation. There's a definite separation between tribal law and the diocese," he said. " We're going to do what needs to be done and restore the church." He added, "We know what the problem is, what to do and where to find the money." He turned to Fr. Martin. "I respect your position. You're trying to do your job, but your job's done."
"We're dealing with two sets of laws here, diocese and tribal," said Dwayne Tomah. He pointed out that when it came to trying to reach decisions about the church the tribe has had to operate under "a set of laws that have been dominating." He questioned who has the ultimate authority over the church. "The tribe has ultimate authority here," he said. The two different laws, he noted, "can still coincide, Father, but we must be on the same page, because we're not."
Fr. Martin told those gathered that he heard them, respected their position and hoped that he could be provided with clear documentation of the tribe's intent so that he could present it to the bishop. The tribal council will place a resolution on the next council meeting's agenda to establish an account to receive donations for the restoration of the church until the Friends of St. Ann's is a legal entity, a process that Darel Bridges thought would take about six months.
Chief Dana smiled when she said, "Let's go get 'em and keep our church."