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Maine’s five tribal chiefs addressed lawmakers on Thursday for the first time since 2002, with one imploring them to support a sovereignty push by saying “our success is your success.”
The historic speeches came at a pivotal moment in the historically fraught relationship between Maine and the tribes. It is governed by a landmark 1980 land-claims settlement that effectively relegated the status of tribes to that of cities and towns and left them lacking the sweeping rights that other U.S. tribes have over gaming, natural resources and other policy areas.
Gov. Janet Mills began her tenure by seeking reconciliation with the tribes, though she has resisted their major effort to overhaul the settlement. The sides agreed to a major 2022 compromise that granted a new mobile sports betting market and tax relief to the tribes.
The Democratic governor did not attend Thursday’s address, with her office citing a scheduling conflict but saying she has offered to meet with tribes. Despite the governor’s past opposition, House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, who championed the return of the tribal address, is planning another legislative effort this year to overhaul the settlement.
That was the major theme of Thursday’s tribal address, following a Harvard University study released in December that found Maine tribes saw economic growth of only 9 percent between 1989 and 2020 under the settlement, compared with 61 percent for non-Maine tribes.
“Our success is your success,” Chief Clarissa Sabattis of the Houlton Band of Maliseets said.
The State of the Tribes address was attended by tribal leaders and citizens as well as U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine’s 2nd District who broke with Mills by championing federal legislation last year that would have allowed tribes here to benefit from future federal laws. Tribes blamed Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a former governor, for blocking the measure.
