OPINION: Wabanaki-State of Maine Relations Strained

No Movement by the Maine Legislature or Governor’s Office on Important Tribal Issues

Wabanaki-Maine relations remain severely strained for several major reasons.

1. The State has failed to act on most of the Tribal-State Work Group (TSWG) recommendations developed in January 2008.  The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee failed to support eight unanimously endorsed TSWG recommendations when they were presented to the Committee in the spring of 2008. 


2. During its consideration of the TSWG recommendations, the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee proposed that the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians should waive its right to approve certain changes to the Maine Implementing Act (MIA), the State codification of its settlement with the Wabanaki.  Under MIA, the law that governs the jurisdictional relationship between the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation and the State, all the signatories have to approve any changes that affect their collective interests.  All three Tribes rejected the proposal by the Judiciary Committee to limit the rights of the Maliseets.


3. Another setback to Wabanaki-Maine relations occurred when the Legislature defeated a bill in April 2008 to allow the Penobscot Nation to change the legal status of some land holdings in Argyle from federal trust to reservation land.  (As the Wabanaki Legal News went to press, a renewed effort to add Argyle land to the Penobscot Indian Reservation appeared ready to pass the Legislature.)


4. Because of the lack of action on the TSWG recommendations, Paul Bisulca decided to not seek re-election as Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission (MITSC) Chair for a second four-year term.  Bisulca, widely praised by both Wabanaki and State leaders for his work, finished his term on January 4, 2010.  No successor has been identified.

New Judiciary Committee Chairs, Senator Lawrence Bliss (D-South Portland) and Representative Charles Priest (D-Brunswick) appointed in December 2008, have received praise for taking a more respectful posture toward Wabanaki leaders.  Senator Bliss and Representative Priest traveled to the Maliseet, Penobscot, and both Passamaquoddy communities in early 2009 to listen to Wabanaki concerns, reversing a historical State expectation that the Wabanaki should always come to  Augusta to express their concerns.  They exercised leadership in the spring of 2009 to ensure the Judiciary Committee finished work on the bill to create a Maliseet Tribal Court and to add the Maliseets to MITSC.

Principal Cause of Relationship Deterioration
Despite the earnest efforts of the new Judiciary Committee Chairs to improve tribal-state relations, little action has occurred on the core issues separating the Wabanaki and the State.  Both the Wabanaki and State of Maine lack organizational structures to formulate, coordinate, and implement Wabanaki-Maine policy goals concerning tribal-state relations.  Upon the signing of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA) in 1980, Maine disbanded its Department of Indian Affairs originally created in 1965.  The defunct Department possessed several responsibilities including the distribution of direct financial aid to the Tribes.  But it also functioned as an office that both the executive and legislative branches of State Government could consult on issues concerning the Wabanaki.

Today, Maine lacks a single person or office responsible for tribal-state relations and for the development of Maine's Indian policies across all branches and offices of State Government.  Since early 2007, Governor Baldacci has assigned his Chief Legal Counsel responsibility for tribal-state relations, currently Patrick Ende.  All of the individuals who have held the position have been overwhelmed by the many responsibilities they must address in their position.

While the Executive Branch of State Government suffers from overloaded staff, the Legislative Branch complicates diplomatic relations with multiple leaders and staff.  No one in the Legislature has ultimate responsibility for Wabanaki relations.  The persistent Wabanaki question, “who speaks for the State of Maine?”, has become even more acute and problematic.

A Solution
This year Mainers will vote for a new Governor and Legislature.  The incoming Governor and Legislature should agree on assigning a single person the primary responsibility for tribal-state relations.  The person given the job should keep everyone in State Government informed.

The Wabanaki, the politically weaker party in the tribal-state relationship, have recognized that they fare better achieving their political goals vis-à-vis the State when they speak and act in a united fashion.  Wabanaki Chiefs, the elected officials that MITSC, the State, and their people look to for the official positions of their respective governments, face many challenges that limit their ability to focus on tribal-state relations on a consistent, ongoing basis.

More than 30 years ago the Wabanaki created Maine Tribal Governors, Inc., initially an employment and training agency for on-reservation Wabanaki People.  Tribal Governors, Inc. comprised the Association of Aroostook Indians, which included the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and Houlton Band of Maliseets, Passamaquoddy Tribe, and Penobscot Nation.  Tribal Governors, Inc. branched out beyond administering grants to commission the film Abnaki:  The Native People of Maine.  The organization no longer exists.  An entity similar to Tribal Governors, Inc. with an explicit mission to develop joint policy for the Wabanaki and implement collective decisions could greatly assist the Tribes in their diplomatic relations with the State.