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The Legislature is holding a public hearing this week on a bill regarding the sovereignty of Maine tribes. I hope it will eventually pass with enough votes to convince Gov. Janet Mills to sign it.
I am a supporter of restorative justice, 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 tribal court run by the Penobscot Nation.
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 Land Claims Settlement 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 LD 2007 and let’s have some justice for a change.
Jay Davis
Belfast
