WISCASSET, Maine — The property owners on Redskin’s Drive have sent a letter to the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen requesting to change their private road name from “Redskin’s Drive” to “Micmac Drive.”
“To avoid any further conflict or potential lawsuits with the Indian tribes in the state we give our consent, but would like to just continue to show our pride in the Indian heritage in the road that leads to our home by using our father’s, our grandfather’s and our great-grandfather’s side of our Indian heritage as the road name,” The letter signed by Sara Harvey, Michael Harvey and Jeff Fortier said.
Last month the property owners asked selectmen to approve a road name for 911 purposes. The two families on the road submitted five choices for the board’s consideration, their first choice being Redskin’s Drive. The other choices were Winchester Drive, Shotgun Alley, Black Widow Lane and Remington Drive.
Selectman Ben Rines made a motion to name the road Redskin’s Drive. The motion carried 3-1-1. Selectman Pam Dunning opposed the motion and Selectman Jeff Slack abstained.
Earlier this month, Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis and James Sappier, former chief and current Penobscot Elder Council member, sent a letter to three of the Wiscasset selectmen asking them to overturn their decision allowing the road to be named “Redskin’s Drive” because of the negative connotations of the word.
Chief Edward Peter Paul of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs said Friday that he had no problem with the proposal to call the road “Micmac Drive.”
“It’s cool,” he said, adding that he sees the plan to name the road in honor of a Maine Native American tribe as a sign of respect.
“It all depends on how you take it. To me, when people do that, everybody takes things differently. Either way to me, is if it hurts some people, then don’t [but] to me, it makes me proud to be a native.”
Penobscot Nation Chief Francis could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.
The request to change the name of the private road is expected to be on the selectmen’s agenda at their next meeting Tuesday, Oct. 7.
BDN writer Dawn Gagnon contributed to this report.