Native Tribes Have Withdrawn from the State of Maine

Since 2011, Maine Governor Paul LePage has used executive orders to dictate the state’s relationship with native tribal governments. In April of this year, he declared that the state of Maine and the native tribes now have a “relationship between equals with its own set of responsibilities” which effectively cedes control of their land and natural resources to the state government.

After fighting the state in court, 3 out of 4 of the state’s native tribes issued a declaration last week, which claims that they will no longer recognize the authority of any political official from the state of Maine. The declaration was signed on the Penobscot reservation by the chief of that tribe, as well as the chiefs of the Micmac and Passamaquoddy tribes. They will no longer allow Maine to “define our sovereignty or culture or to interfere with our self-governing rights.”

As a result, these tribes have withdrawn their representatives from the state legislature. Currently, the tribes are allowed to propose bills, but can’t vote on anything that reaches the House floor. This marks the first time since 1842, that a tribal official hasn’t been present in the legislature. After severing their diplomatic ties with the state and walking out of the state house, Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot tribe spoke to his supporters “We have gotten on our knees for the last time, from here on out, we are a self-governing organization, focused on a self-determining path.”

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