Cliv Dore, a former Passamaquoddy tribal chief and one of the early negotiators of the 1980 federal law that awarded more than $80 million to three Maine tribes so they could buy back 300,000 acres of land, died on Saturday. He was 78.
Dore served three terms as tribal governor — or chief — at Pleasant Point, the Passamaquoddy reservation, from 1984 until 1986, and again from 1991 until 1997, after the resignation of former governor Melvin Francis. Dore himself resigned in 1997. Before that, he had served as lieutenant governor, tribal health director and director of the Pleasant Point Housing Authority.
Dore was one of the initial negotiators for the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, in which the Passamaquoddies, the Penobscot Indian Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseets received $81.5 million to settle land claims against the state of Maine. The tribes used the money to buy back about 300,000 acres of land.
During Dore’s tenures as chief, he helped oversee the creation of more housing at the Pleasant Point, which saw its population triple over the course of a decade in the late 1970s and early 80s in the wake of the settlement act. He later advocated for the creation of a Passamaquoddy casino in Calais, a measure that ultimately did not come to pass.
Dore was born in 1942 in Pleasant Point, the oldest of 12 children of Stafford and Dorothy Dore, according to his obituary. A proud veteran, Dore enlisted first in the U.S. Army in 1960, and then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he served a total of 22 years, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant and retiring as an Officer of Special Investigations. He also served in the Vietnam War. He later attended the University of Maine at Machias, graduating with a degree in business administration.
Dore for many years operated Longacre Enterprises, which produced balsam fir Christmas wreaths. He had three children and four step-children, as well as 20 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, according to his obituary.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated how many children and step-children Cliv Dore had.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated what the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act did.