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As a tour guide in Portland, I show out-of-state visitors what makes Maine unique. Here’s what surprises visitors again and again: We are the only state failing to recognize the inherent sovereignty of the Indigenous nations within our borders.
On this subject, we are clearly behind the rest of the U.S. There is an economic boom benefiting the rest of Indian Country that Maine has locked out.
Most tour guests are appalled to hear this and they ask why this is. I tell them about the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and how the state has kept it from being the living document it was meant to be. How two years in a row Gov. Janet Mills has opposed bipartisan efforts to fix the broken system.
The Legislature is now considering LD 2007, which could bring the social and economic benefits to both tribal members and non-members like myself. But there’s one much more obvious reason to support LD 2007 that is nevertheless worth considering.
It is the right thing to do. It is.
I want to be able to tell tourists a success story: In 2024, Maine’s legislators and governor, despite two failed attempts two years in a row, finally achieved a bold improvement in state-tribal relations, aligning themselves with the nationwide standard behind which Maine had lagged for so long. We can do that.
Please let the governor and your legislators know this is important to you too. Let’s do the right thing.
Dugan Murphy
Portland
