LITTLETON, Maine — The melancholic drumming of the Wolastoq honor song is an ancient call for Maliseets to honor the river and come home to its peaceful and abundant waters.
On Thursday, Chief Clarissa Sabattis of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians opened the swearing in of Judge Eric Mehnert with this drumming and singing, the same way they will call those with substance use disorder back into the community with a new Healing to Wellness Court.
“I want to be sure we recognise how significant this is for our sovereignty and self-determination to exercise our jurisdiction in our own court,” Sabattis said.
The Maliseet wellness court, similar to the state’s non-native drug treatment courts, offers tribal citizens an alternative to recovery behind bars. The first wellness court participants will begin on Feb. 5. This will be the first such option in Aroostook County, the only state judicial region without a drug treatment court.
Mehnert has been the chief judge for the Penobscot Nation’s similar court since 2008. He also helped the Hopi Nation of Arizona set up their wellness court.
He cited federal data showing 76.9 percent of those imprisoned with substance use disorders will be back in prison within three years. In wellness and drug courts, 67 percent who complete programs do not reoffend. It also saves money. Putting a Mainer in jail costs roughly $60,000, but you can put someone through a wellness program for about $12,000 for 18 months, he said.
The reason wellness court works better than jail is that the behavior and the substance use underlying it that brings someone to court is often not the problem, he said. It can also be unresolved personal or historical trauma.
“You never change behavior with negative reinforcement,” he said.
The conversation for the Maliseet court started in 2017, when Sabattis spoke with other Maine tribes already operating their own courts. She said they realized the Healing to Wellness Court would be the logical first step toward developing a full tribal court.
At first, the Maliseets will not require criminal charges to be in the program. But over the past few months, they have been working with Aroostook County Superior Court Justice Stephen Nelson to figure out the best ways to work with the state courts.
“He has been wonderful and really proactive on his side of things,” she said. “We are hoping to continue partnering with Justice Nelson and the district attorney to make sure getting the word out so people will have access to this.”
For now, they plan to get referrals from state court, defense attorneys and advocates in the community. When a referral is made, the tribe’s wellness team will meet the day of court and review referrals to make sure people are a good fit for the court. Unless there are violent crimes that involve a weapon, they will most likely be admitted.
If a person is facing eviction due to substance use disorders, they could also be referred to the program. Additionally, the tribe plans to use the wellness court for child custody cases.
The Healing to Wellness Court is intended to improve the outcomes for people diagnosed with substance use disorder and or mental health issues. It will be specific to the treatment needs of each participant regardless of the number of underlying or co-occurring issues, Sabattis said.
It is part of a planned expansion of the Maliseet justice system. The tribe of 1,700 members eventually wants to have a full court system like the larger Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy tribes have. Those tribes also have police departments, something that Sabbatis said is also in the works.
“Sooner than later we will have a fully operational court, but we are just doing it in increments,” she said.