#mainesettlementact — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #mainesettlementact, aggregated by home.social.
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#BreakingNews! 🚨 #LandBack in #Maine!
Land returned to #MikmaqNation will double tribe’s territory
Nearly 3,400 acres have been returned to the Aroostook County-based tribe.
by Reuben M. Schafir, June 22, 2026
"The #Mikmaq Nation is expanding. The tribe on Friday obtained title to #MesgilgMaqamigew, a nearly 3,400-acre parcel near #BridgewaterME. The land return is so large it will more than double the tribe’s holdings.
" 'For decades the Mi’kmaq citizens have seen their traditional hunting and gathering grounds disappear to development or private ownership not allowing access,' Chief #SheilaMcCormack said in a news release. 'This property will give our people a place for outdoor recreation, a place to teach our children how to hunt and fish, and a place we can pass down the traditions of our ancestors before they are forgotten.'
"Of the four #Wabanaki tribes, the Mi’kmaq Nation received federal recognition last, in 1991. It and the #HoultonBand of #Maliseet Indians hold far less land in Maine than the #PassamaquoddyTribe and #PenobscotNation, which each have more than 150,000 acres.
"#TheConservationFund negotiated a below-market value sale and purchased the parcel last year from #forestry company #HCHayne, then held it on behalf of the tribe. The organization worked with an alliance of tribes known as the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship, and #FirstLight, a group of non-native, land-based organizations, to secure $1.9 million for project." 'Indigenous land return projects are a cornerstone of our conservation efforts,' Tom Duffus, Northeast representative for The Conservation Fund, said in a statement. 'I’m thrilled that this special place is once again managed by the Mi’kmaq Nation, whose citizens have stewarded this landscape since time immemorial.'
"Mesgilg Maqamigew means 'big land,' a name chosen in recognition of the significance to the tribe of a parcel so large, contiguous and lush with resources.
"The property contains #forests, #wetlands and more than three miles of #NorthWhitneyBrook, a stream with a thriving #BrookTrout population, according to Mi’kmaq Environmental Health Director Shannon Hill.
"The tribe has already located #fiddleheads there, and Hill said they plan to use the land for #hunting, #fishing, gathering and timber. Snowmobile and ATV trails are available for public use.
"#RichardSilliboy, a basket maker and former Mi’kmaq vice chief who sits on the commission, is hopeful the parcel has #BrownAsh for weaving — but expects, at least, 'some decent fishing.'
"#MesgilgMaqamigew is the sixth to be completed in a series of projects spearheaded by the commission that are collectively known as the tributary land returns. The tributary returns comprise 52,000 acres in 11 discrete projects involving all five tribal governments in Maine at an estimated cost of $52 million."
Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/22/land-returned-to-mikmaq-nation-will-double-tribes-territory/Archived version:
https://archive.md/Bkbl0#WabanakiAlliance #Dawnland #ProtectTheSacred #ProtectTheForest #LandConservation #NativeAmericanNews #IndigenousNews #MaineSettlementAct #NativeAmericans #Indigenous #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #LandStewardship #Stewardship #SolarPunkSunday
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From #MaineMorningStar: Governor, #Maine Democratic Party on Health Care, Immigration Enforcement, Housing, Energy, Taxes, #TribalSovereignty
"Tribal Sovereignty
What is your position on tribal sovereignty?
#ShennaBellows (D)
Shenna Bellows supports restoring full sovereignty to the #WabanakiNations.#TroyJackson (D)
Troy Jackson supports restoring full sovereignty to the #WabanakiNations, a position reflected in his legislative record. Despite the setbacks, he said he is proud that Maine was able to pass laws to support economic development, improve access to clean drinking water, recognize the exclusive jurisdiction of tribal courts, and enshrine protections for Wabanaki children and their families into state law.#AngusKingIII (D)
No response. [NO SURPRISE!]#HannahPingree (D)
Hannah Pingree supports restoring full sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations and believes the Wabanaki Nations deserve the same rights and opportunities as every other federally recognized tribe. She said she has partnered with Tribal leaders and governments on issues like climate resilience and clean energy, and she would work to expand collaboration on economic development, health care, infrastructure, natural resources, and environmental protection.#NiravShah (D)
Nirav Shah supports restoring full sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations. At the Maine CDC, Shah said he worked side by side with #WabanakiLeaders, including on #PFAS and #EnvironmentalThreats, and saw firsthand that our state does its best work when it listens first and #collaborates with the Tribes in good faith and in true partnership.#MaineGovernor #MainePol #Elections2026 #TribalRights #Wabanakik #WabanakiSovereignty
#LandBack #Dawnland #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #WabanakiConfederacy -
#Maine - Gubernatorial Candidates Take Part in #WabanakiAlliance Forum
"Eight gubernatorial candidates and more than 150 people attended the Wabanaki Alliance 2026 Gubernatorial Forum March 19 at the Houlton Community Resource Center. Hosted by the #HoultonBandOfMalisset Indians, the forum included eight candidates who responded to questions from moderators and forum attendees about nonpartisan issues and policy affecting the #WabanakiNations.
"Candidates received questions from #MaulianBryant, citizen of the #PenobscotNation and executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance; #MalleahBrown, a citizen of the #PassamaquoddyTribe at #Motahkomikuk and youth lead with the #WabanakiYouth Policy Initiative; and #OsihkiyolCroftonMacdonald, #HoultonBand of Maliseet Indians Ambassador and president of the Wabanaki Alliance Board. #ClarissaSabattis, Tribal Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, made opening and closing remarks.
"Participating candidates included (in alphabetical order)
- #ShennaBellows (D)
- #RickBennett (I)
- #JohnGlowa (I)
- #TroyJackson (D)
- #DerekLevasseur (I)
- #HannahPingree (D)
- #NiravShah (D)
- #AngusKingIII (D)"The primary election for Democratic and Republican candidates is Tuesday, June 9. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3."
Source:
https://wabanakialliance.com/gubernatorial-candidates-forum-2026/Recording of the forum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLzaxN-YE7k&t=29s#MaineGovernor #MainePol #Elections2026 #TribalRights #Wabanakik #WabanakiSovereignty
#LandBack #Dawnland #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #WabanakiConfederacy -
Dems in #Maine’s #2ndDistrict race tackle #tribal topics in #PresqueIsleME
By Cameron Levasseur, May 13, 2026
"The four Democrats competing in a June primary to face former Gov. #PaulLePage for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District met Wednesday night in Presque Isle at a forum put on by the #WabanakiAlliance to discuss tribal sovereignty and other issues facing the state’s native population.
"Hosted by the #MikmaqNation, one of Maine’s four #WabanakiNations, the event lasted two hours and covered a broad range of topics, from #WaterRights to gaming legislation to the teaching of #NativeHistory in Maine’s schools.
"The candidates — State Auditor #MattDunlap, state Sen. #JoeBaldacci, former political operative #JordanWood and social worker #PaigeLoud — agreed on nearly everything, chiefly in their wholehearted support of #TribalSovereignty.
"#Sovereignty has dominated the political conversation around Maine’s tribes for years, with majority support for its expansion in the state legislature countered by opposition from the state’s executive leaders, including LePage and then Gov. #JanetMills.
" 'Only when I worked on these issues federally … did I understand how wrong Maine has been to its tribes and the need to rectify that #injustice,' Wood said.
If elected, all four said they would reintroduce a 2022 bill put forth by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, to amend the #MaineIndianClaimsSettlementAct of 1980 and give the Wabanaki the same rights under federal law as the 570 #FederallyRecognizedTribes.
"Golden currently represents the 2nd District but abruptly announced last fall that he would not seek reelection. His bill failed in the Senate after it was blocked by Sen. #AngusKing, another Maine politician who has expressed skepticism at tribal rights expansions."Archived version:
https://archive.ph/zXhzT#MainePol #Elections2026 #TribalRights #Wabanakik #WabanakiSovereignty #LandBack #Dawnland #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #WabanakiConfederacy
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#WabanakiAlliance: Spring 2026 Update
by #MaulianBryant, #PenobscotNation Citizen
March 27, 2026"We want to share some of the powerful stories highlighting our work since January. From the halls of the State House to #Maliseet homelands in #HoultonME, the movement for #Wabanaki #sovereignty is growing stronger every day.
Advocacy in Action
We recently held a Lobby Day focused on two critical pieces of legislation:#LD785: Restoring tribal self-government.
#LD395: Ensuring #WabanakiNations have access to future federal laws.The bills have since been amended and, while they do not represent the original form, the Chiefs agreed the amendment from the governor’s office provided for incremental but important movement forward.
[...]
We remain committed to ensuring that people across our homelands now called Maine understand why it is vital that Wabanaki Nations are no longer treated differently than the other 570+ federally recognized tribes."
Read more:
https://mailchi.mp/wabanakialliance/wabanaki-alliance-newsletter-11040921?e=7e7095a76c#IndigenousSovereignty #Dawnland #MainePol #NativeAmericanNews #MaineLegislation #MaineSettlementAct #TribalSovereignty #LandBack
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When it comes to standing up to #Trump, I laud #Maine Governor #JanetMills. But when it comes to #Wabanaki #Sovereignty, building wind terminals on undeveloped islands (#SearsIsland / #Wahsumkik ), destroying untouched forests to supply #WesternMass with electricity, or building highways through farmland (#MDOT), we definitely DO NOT always see eye-to-eye!
Governor opposed to latest change to #SettlementAct backed by #WabanakiNations
by Emma Davis
Wed, April 9, 2025"Discussion of legislation to afford the Wabanaki Nations more authority over their land revealed that Gov. Janet Mills does not support the change, presenting a steep path for a plan that otherwise has bipartisan support.
"After not testifying during the public hearing last week, the governor’s counsel, Jerry Reid, told the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that Mills’ concerns stem from the inability to predict the future needs of state government, an issue also raised in written testimony from the #MaineDepartmentOfTransportation, which was made available after the hearing.
"When pressed by committee members, Reid said he doesn’t have a specific example of an infrastructure project that would warrant seizing tribal land but that, 'We need to write the law mindful of the potential for problems.'
"While Reid and Wabanaki leaders noted that progress has and continues to be made to improve the relationship between the state and Wabanaki Nations, Reid added, 'the fact that we have such a good relationship right now might not always be true.'
"The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws.
"The 1834 federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress. However, the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the #HoultonBand of #Maliseet Indians, the #PassamaquoddyTribe and the #PenobscotNation.
"This is the act that has overall resulted in the Tribes being treated more akin to #municipalities than #SovereignNations. So far, sweeping changes to the act have failed due to opposition from Mills, but the governor, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year.
"The legislation being considered this session, #LD958, would amend the Settlement Act to prohibit the state from exercising eminent domain on trust and reservation land, which is protected under federal law, though fee land — or private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to the state taking.
"The bill would also amend the 2023 #MikmaqNationRestorationAct to make this change for the Mi’kmaq Nation, which wasn’t included in the Settlement Act.
"On Tuesday, the Taxation Committee unanimously voted in favor of a bill to ensure equal tax treatment among all of the Wabanaki Nations, which Mills supports. #LD982 would provide the #MikmaqNation the same rights to sales tax revenue on its land that the other three tribes of the Wabanaki Nations were granted in 2022 through an amendment to the Settlement Act.
State hasn’t exercised this authority in decades, but argues it’s necessary"The state hasn’t exercised eminent domain over #TribalLands since the #SettlementAct. However, testimony from Wabanaki leaders and state government officials underscore that it is a possibility."
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/governor-opposed-latest-change-settlement-185134791.html#MaineSettlementAct #EminentDomain #LandTheft #FirstNations #WabanakiConfederancy
#MaineFirstNations #Maine #MainePol
#NativeAmericanNews #TribalSovereignty #SaveSmilingHillFarm #SaveTheForests #MainePol #IndigenousPeoplesDay -
#WabanakiAlliance testifies in Washington about the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women [#MMIW]
Maine Public | By Carol Bousquet
Published November 21, 2024"Murdered and missing indigenous women were the focus of a hearing before House Interior Appropriations leaders Wednesday in Washington.
"Wabanaki Alliance Executive Director Maulian Bryant testified that one in three indigenous women will be the victim of a violent crime in her lifetime. And she said stereotypes about indigenous people silence victims and make their cases more challenging to address.
"'When an Indigenous woman goes missing there's not the same attention and action as when a Caucasian woman does. The primary reasons for this are threefold: societal indifference, jurisdictional and coordination issues, and a lack of resources for tribal law enforcement agencies. The false conceptions of our people lead to victim blaming and attitudes that minimize attention given to these cases,' Bryant said.
"The 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, Bryant said, has led to the dismissal of tribal cases because they were 'kicked out to state courts' and resulted in 'zero convictions.'
"'The state was very adept at their negotiating, and it's kept us oppressed and held back from our full experience as federally recognized tribal nations," she said. 'We are heavily restricted by this settlement, and it impacts this crisis as well.'
"Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2022 means Maine tribes are now able to handle criminal cases on tribal lands.
"But Bryant said more resources are needed for tribal law enforcement training and ensuring that data on indigenous crimes against women are collected and shared with state and federal agencies that can help to bring justice to victims.
"Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, ranking member of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, invited Bryant to testify.
"In a statement, Pingree said there is a need for additional funding for staffing and public safety, and justice programs that can comprehensively address this crisis. 'That's why it's imperative we pass a full year Interior Appropriations bill and not have programs constrained by operating under a Continuing Resolution,' she said.
"The 2023 launch of the Department of Justice Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person Regional Outreach Program has placed ten attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to help respond to cases, according to Pingree."
#MaulianBryant #Wabanaki #Maine #MMIWG #MaineSettlementAct #WabanakiNations #VAWA #FullSoveigntyNow #WabanakiConfederacy #SettlementAct #IndigenousPeoplesDay
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Understanding #TribalSovereignty
"For more than 40 years, the state of #Maine has used legislation passed in 1980 to deny the #WabanakiNations’ inherent tribal sovereignty, excluding the Houlton Band of #Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, #PassamaquoddyTribe, and #PenobscotNation from many rights and protections guaranteed by Federal Indian Law. This has resulted in decades of social and economic barriers for the #Wabanaki people and surrounding communities."
Who We Are
"In June of 2020 the tribes in Maine (Mi’kmaq Nation, #HoultonBandOfMaliseetIndians, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation) formed the #WabanakiAlliance. The Wabanaki Alliance was formed to educate people of Maine about the need for securing sovereignty of the tribes in Maine.
"In 1980, the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act was passed by Congress and ratified by the tribes and the State of Maine. The Settlement Act was supposed to be a living document that would be improved upon. Under political duress the tribes agreed to the Settlement Act but with the hope to continue improving the relationship between the State of Maine and the tribes. For forty years this has not happened.
"Because of the 1980 Settlement Act the Tribes in Maine have had their sovereignty stripped from them. The promise of improving the Settlement Act has never been fulfilled. Now the Tribes in Maine are treated less than every other federally recognized tribe in America. The Wabanaki Alliance is not asking for special privileges but fairness by having the same or similar sovereignty as the more than 500 other tribes across America.
"We ask all those who support the sovereignty of the Tribes in Maine to educate themselves on the issues, why they are important and join us in securing sovereignty.
"Use the resources on this page to learn more about the issue and its history, and then visit our Take Action page to find out how you can support Wabanaki sovereignty."
https://www.wabanakialliance.com/sovereignty/
#MaineSettlementAct #IndigenousSovereignty #WabanakiTribes #Micmac #Miqmak #IndigenousActivism
#FirstNations #MaineTribes -
Letter: #MaineTribes deserve #sovereignty, #justice
February 26, 2024
"The Legislature is holding a public hearing this week [last week] on a bill regarding the sovereignty of Maine tribes. I hope it will eventually pass with enough votes to convince Gov. #JanetMills to sign it.
"I am a supporter of #RestorativeJustice, which seeks to repair the harm done by crimes both legal and political. One of #Maine’s most effective practitioners of restorative justice is the #TribalCourt run by the #PenobscotNation.
"The tribes, of course, have been treated abysmally by the ruling white culture of Maine for centuries. There was a time, for example, when a bounty was placed on the heads of tribal members, and discriminatory conduct continues.
"The federally recognized tribes in Maine are unique in a demeaning way: They alone do not have #sovereignty on the lands they occupy. I have heard the governor indicate that the 1980s #LandClaimsSettlementAc makes it difficult to accommodate sovereignty in Maine. But just think: The bounty was erased after a time, women gained the right to vote, Black people were recognized as fully human and on and on. Change is a fact of political life, and the time has come to grant sovereignty to Maine tribes. Please pass #LD2007 and let’s have some justice for a change."
Jay Davis
BelfastLink to LD2007 - An Act to Advance Self-determination for #WabanakiNations
https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bill/display_ps.asp?LD=2007&snum=131#LandBack #MaineSettlementAct #MaineTribes #IndigenousSovereignty #WabanakiTribes #WabanakiNations #Micmac #Miqmak #IndigenousNews #MaineLegislature
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This article from the March 2024 issue of #DownEastMagazine has a lot of background behind the Maine Settlement Act. A must read!!!
What Would #TribalSovereignty Mean for the #Wabanaki?
For more than 40 years, the tribes in Maine have had to play by different rules than other indigenous groups across the country, and they have suffered in tangible ways as a result. Now, a push for greater tribal autonomy has come to a head
"18th-century treaties were never intended to deed away land. Like many American #Indigenous groups, the #Wabanaki viewed stewardship as a communal undertaking — they didn’t share European conceptions of private land ownership. Unattuned to this foreign mindset, the Wabanaki signed treaties assuming the documents outlined land use, not ownership."
By Rachel Slade
March, 2024"The #HoultonBandOfMaliseets’ administrative headquarters, built to resemble a log cabin, sits on a small tract of tribal land in Aroostook County, just north of where I-95 intersects the Canadian border. A few steps away, the #MeduxnekeagRiver roars past, the sound of rushing water a reminder of the harm done by 19th-century log drives, when clearing the river of obstacles turned the flow fast and shallow. A decade ago, the Maliseets took it upon themselves to start a #restoration project, partnering with federal and state agencies and nonprofit groups to add boulders and bends to the Meduxnekeag. To date, they have covered a four-mile stretch, recreating conditions that will cool and oxygenate the water, in order to help insects, birds, and fish thrive. The work requires patience. So does much else. The river is hardly the only historical damage tribal leaders around the state have been attempting to repair.
"One of the four remaining Wabanaki tribes whose forebears arrived in Maine more than 10,000 years ago, the Maliseets inhabited an area now split between the United States and Canada long before the existence of an international border. Chief #ClarissaSabattis, who wears her heather-brown hair in two long, thick braids that drape over her shoulders, was elected to lead the #Maliseets in #Maine in 2017. Since then, she says, she has struggled daily with the complex legal relationships the tribes have with the state government, dictated by the 1980 #MaineIndianClaimsSettlementAct.
"The terms of the settlement were the result of a decade of legal wrangling (and centuries of fraught dealings before that) that resulted in the state wielding unprecedented power over tribal affairs. The tribes have come to find the arrangement both burdensome and unjust. 'Our tribal council is our governing body,' Sabattis said when I met her at the Maliseet administrative offices. 'We should have full authority to make the laws and serve our people without interference from other governments.'
"Several years ago, the Maliseets, Mi’kmaq, #Passamaquoddy, and #PenobscotNation banded together and formed #WabanakiAlliance to collectively push for #TribalSovereignty. Most of the country’s 570 other federally recognized tribes are sovereign, which in the context of tribal affairs implies a sort of quasi-independence: through a direct nation-to-nation relationship with the federal government, indigenous groups can run their own communities. They administer their law enforcement, courts, schools, health care, and civil infrastructure on their reserved lands with federal assistance and funding — and, unlike in Maine, can do so without state-level interference. Sovereignty also means that if the tribes believe the state has violated their federally protected rights, they have recourse both through federal agencies and courts. It’s a system under which tribes across the nation have begun to flourish in recent decades."
Read more:
https://downeast.com/issues-politics/what-would-tribal-sovereignty-mean-for-the-wabanaki/#LandBack #MaineSettlementAct #NoCompromise #MaineTribes #IndigenousSovereignty #Wabanaki #WabanakiTribes #WabanakiNations #PenobscotNation #Passamaquoddy #Micmac #Miqmak #Maliseets #IndigenousNews #JanetMills