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Diana Scully served as executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission from 1989 to 2004 and as a MITSC state commissioner from 2009 to 2011. John Dieffenbacher-Krall held the MITSC executive director position from 2005 until 2017. Paul Thibeault served as a MITSC state commissioner from 2010 to 2013 and commission executive director from 2018 to 2023.
When Gov. Janet Mills ran for governor in 2018, she touted as one of her priorities to improve tribal-state relations by appointing “people to the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission who will carry out its mission, which has too long been neglected.” To her credit, she initially fulfilled that promise.
Discouragingly, once again the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission (MITSC) suffers from multiple —four — state commissioner vacancies. This time, the governor has expressed little interest in addressing what she pledged to fix in 2018. This inaction creates an especially acute problem for MITSC as it has an intentionally high quorum threshold to ensure input into decisions from commissioners representing all appointing signatories. With so many vacancies, achieving a quorum is out of reach.
MITSC exists as a key component of the Maine Implementing Act, the state portion of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement. A key tenet informing the structure of MITSC features a balanced body with equal representation from Wabanaki Nations and the State of Maine. (The Mi’kmaq Nation is not included as they have separate settlement acts with the state and federal governments.) Maine has six seats on the commission, the tribes hold six seats, and the 12 appointed commissioners elect a 13th individual as the chair.
MITSC exists to “continually review the effectiveness of this Act and the social, economic and legal relationship between the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation and the State;” adopt fishing rules on MITSC waters; rule on Passamaquoddy or Penobscot petitions to create extended reservations; and consider expansions of Passamaquoddy and Penobscot land for trust status outside existing eligible holdings.
MITSC has faced many significant challenges over the past 45-plus years, including meager funding and the tendency of signatories to the Settlement Act to use MITSC as a means to protest developments in Wabanaki-Maine relations. This political maneuvering has resulted at times in withheld funding, commission seats left vacant for long periods, and signatories refusing to participate. Despite these obstacles, MITSC has an extensive record of accomplishments.
MITSC has issued many significant reports, including “At Loggerheads: The State of Maine and the Wabanaki”; “The Drafting and Enactment of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act”; “Research Report on the 1876 Removal of Article 10, Section 5 from Printed Copies of the Maine Constitution”; and “Sea Run.”
MITSC provided critical staff support to the Wabanaki Studies Commission and the Tribal-State Work Group.
MITSC played an instrumental role in amending Maine’s law prohibiting the offensive place name “sq***,” led the effort to expand the law to outlaw variants of the offensive word designed to skirt the law, and successfully campaigned to have RSU 12 and Sanford drop the use of the offensive mascot, redskins.
MITSC continues to have important responsibilities today. It has exclusive jurisdiction to promulgate fishing rules on nearly three dozen water bodies and river segments. An effort is underway led by State Commissioner Robert Checkoway to update and publish these rules. A quorum is urgently needed to move forward.
Gov. Mills cites the 2022 Tribal-State Collaboration Act as one of her most significant accomplishments in the area of Wabanaki-Maine relations. Each state agency subject to the act must develop a policy that promotes effective communication and collaboration, positive government-to-government relations, and cultural competency. MITSC is developing the cultural competency training for the state agencies. It is also charged with commenting on each agency’s policy and receiving biennial reports from the agencies with copies of their policies and summary of activities to implement them.
Historically, Wabanaki-Maine relations have been a low Maine state government priority. However, developments during the last six years have changed the Wabanaki-State of Maine political landscape.
The emergence of the Wabanaki Alliance and accompanying Wabanaki Alliance Tribal Coalition numbering almost 350 member organizations has amplified the public demand for a more just tribal-state relationship. And the creation of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act and the effort to enact its 22 consensus recommendations have provided a focal point to the public’s insistence on a more equitable, enlightened relationship. We believe most Maine people want tribal-state relations prioritized.
By filling the four vacant state commissioner seats on MITSC, Gov. Mills could partially respond to the increasing public demand to improve tribal-state relations. As she contemplates her appointments, she should consider women who are underrepresented on MITSC and Mainers from regions that have never or rarely been represented on MITSC.
