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Your voice is urgently needed, as we stand with Wabanaki Nations in their pursuit of fair recognition of inherent rights which have been long undermined and disregarded by the state of Maine.
At its formation in 1820, Maine proclaimed in its new constitution that, in inheriting its legitimacy from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the new state would “assume and perform” all duties and obligations resulting from treaties and other agreements with Wabanaki Nations. This would be the first of many broken promises by the state to Wabanaki peoples who found themselves within these newly drawn borders. In the following two centuries I see a pattern of land theft and genocidal policies designed to strip Wabanaki people of their traditions, political autonomy, connection to their homelands, and their very existence as distinct peoples.
The legislature’s Judiciary Committee is considering two bills: LD 395, which would give Wabanaki Nations’ fuller access to federal laws that benefit tribal nations across the U.S., and LD 785, which would amend the most restrictive aspects of the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. These bills address the largest remaining barriers imposed by the state of Maine on Wabanaki Nations’ ability to exercise sovereign rights on their ancestral territory.
I draw from the spirit of my rural Maine upbringing to oppose the mistreatment of my neighbors. In this case, the mistreatment has been ongoing, and for far too long. Go to wabanakialliance.com to learn how to write or speak to the Judiciary Committee.
Luke Sekera-Flanders
Bangor
