MAINE, Maine — It's a fight that's been going on for four decades, and on Tuesday, the state's Judiciary Committee held a hearing on bill LD1262. The bill is a new effort to address the sovereignty of Maine's Wabanaki tribes.
Maine's Native American tribes want the state to give back rights they say they've lost after the 1980 Indian Land Claims Settlement Act was signed.
On Tuesday, an emotional hearing on the legislative bill that could make some significant changes to that act was held. The bill would enhance Wabanaki tribes' sovereignty in their communities, including matters like criminal justice, taxation, sporting, and natural resources.
Penobscot Indian Nation Chief Kirk Francis said when tribes and states have positive relationships; both entities do better.
"All we are asking for is to be respected within a coexisting society that obviously exists and that we all have to participate in. But the Wabanaki tribes of Maine should be held in a standard in its relationship with [a] state government that really recognizes those things," Francis said.
Hundreds of people put their names on the list to testify on the bill. The hearing went on to almost nine hours.
State Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, sponsored the bill.
"The purpose of LD1626 is to modernize the government-to-government relationship between Maine and the Wabanaki nation," she said.
A relationship, Ross said, that has been dictated by an unfair settlement act passed 40 years ago. She explained in her testimony the state had restricted the Wabanaki's sovereign rights.
"It has all led to the hampering of progress for the Wabanaki Nations and people, but also for the nearby communities who are losing out on opportunities to partner with tribal nations and access federal resources that could be improving the entire region in Maine," Ross said.
Francis said the bill recognizes and restores the tribes' ability to operate themselves just as other tribes throughout the country do.
"We will have, not just, a voice to be heard, but a meaningful voice. We will not be in a situation of consultation, but more of a consent conversation with the state," Francis said.
Penobscot Nation Ambassador Maulian Dana said the bill would allow indigenous people to improve their economic development efforts and have general jurisdiction over tribal lands and resources.
"I think that in an emotional and spiritual sense, it would really lift a burden off of our people who have felt very oppressed by the state of Maine ever since this settlement act was enacted," Dana said.
Ross said the legislation would modernize the law after a task force conducted research and developed a report with recommendations.
"To restore back to the Wabanaki nations much of their governmental jurisdiction over their reservation and trust lands, as recommended by the task force," Ross said.
The bill is an effort to modernize the government relations between the Maine government and Wabanaki people. Talbot said some of the provisions scare some people, but she said state measures to restore sovereignty are long overdue.
Dana said Wabanaki nations in Maine were established here long before Maine became a state. She added tribes don't want more than others. They just want what they deserve and is fair.
"We've lived in a status that is a lot less than we could be living based on our status as federally recognized tribes," Dana said. "We haven't had as much jurisdictional control or really self-determination in any of our communities, and this bill is really key to fix that."
Rep. Jeff Evangelos, I-Friendship, emotionally supported the bill and said it's a shameful legacy.
"I reject the legacy of the past and endorse the proposals of this bill. Something wonderful is about to happen. Maine is about to acknowledge that we have four sovereign nations within our borders," Evangelos said. "They will attract investment, create jobs, and they will exercise their self-determination."
"It's extremely important to the future of Wabanaki tribes in the state of Maine, how we interface with each other, and how our relationship becomes," Francis said.
After the hearing, the Judiciary Committee will vote on the bill and decide whether to send it to the full legislature.
Here are the details of Bill LD1626.
Here is a link to the Judicial committee's hearing on the bill.