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While larger issues of sovereignty remain unresolved, tribes in Maine and state government have worked together to move forward on several issues, including tribal courts, water quality and gaming.
So, it is a bit distressing to again see the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission (MITSC) mired in disagreement. However, a new office of tribal-state affairs, which is currently being considered by Maine lawmakers, could offer a new venue to continue this important work.
LD 1834, as amended, would create an Office of Tribal-State affairs within the Secretary of State’s Office. According to the bill text, the office is meant to “promote positive government-to-government relations between the state and the Indian tribes in a neutral manner and without advocating either for or against the interests of the state or of the Indian tribes.”
The bill has been passed by both the Maine House and Senate. Now, it is awaiting funding, which lawmakers should approve to get this new office up and running.
While this may seem duplicative of MITSC, it is worth noting that the role of the commission more narrowly focuses on implementation of and changes to the 1980 Indian Land Claims Settlement Act. This new group would have a broader focus, and, perhaps more importantly, does not come with the history that has stymied MITSC.
The commission, which was created as part of the 1980 Indian Land Claims Settlement Act, is meant to be a forum for evaluation of the effectiveness of the act and the relationship between the state and the five tribes in Maine. It is made up of six tribal commissioners chosen by the tribes, and six state commissioners nominated by the governor, with a 13th member — a chairperson — who is selected by a majority vote of the commissioners.
The 13-member commission could and should play a significant role in helping to resolve disputes between the tribes and the state and to help foster a better relationship between the two entities.
Instead, the commission has too often become mired in disagreement and dysfunction. In 2003, for example, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy members stopped attending commission meetings for more than a year after voters rejected a tribal casino proposed for Sanford. Gov. Paul LePage did not fill vacancies on the commission when they occurred during his second term in office.
More recently, however, the commission was instrumental in developing a long list of areas where the state and tribes can take action to improve the wellbeing of members of the four federally recognized tribes in Maine. Those recommendations have been the basis of several successful pieces of legislation that have become law.
Late last month, some members of MITSC objected to three men that Gov. Janet Mills had nominated to serve on the commission. The group’s executive director, Jill Tompkins, and chair, Newell Lewey, took the unusual step of sending a letter to the chairs of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee critical of the nominees’ past statements, including a column published by the Bangor Daily News. “The current MITSC commissioners will work with any individuals recommended by this committee and confirmed by the Senate, of course. However, we respectfully request that you consider what kind of atmosphere will be created by adding three individuals with such obvious opposition to tribal concerns and interests,” Tompkins and Lewey wrote.
The governor has since withdrawn two of the nominations, leaving the commission short of members. This is unfortunate because the municipal voices that the nominees represent are often muted in conversations around tribal-state issues.
As a former commission member, James Cote, wrote in a column published last week by the BDN, serving on MITSC was frustrating work that felt bogged down by administrative concerns rather than tackling long-standing issues of racism and conflict.
Penobscot Nation Ambassador, Maulian Bryant, who is not a member of MITSC, has also been frustrated by the commission’s history of dysfunction.
“The tribes really want MITSC to work,” Bryant, told the BDN editorial board in an interview. “It is not in anyone’s interest to only have litigation and disagreement.”
We, like Bryant and Cote, are hopeful that MITSC can be revitalized to play a positive role. We also see a vital role for the new office that would be created by LD 1834. As Bryant explained, the new office could engage new people and new perspectives on issues that are important to tribes in Maine and the state without the fraught history and narrow focus of MITSC.
Tribal and state representatives have worked together to make significant changes, including amended legislation to strengthen tribal courts that awaits (and deserves) final passage and funding in the Legislature. Those steps can be built upon through both a revitalized MITSC and a new office of tribal affairs.