In a feat tribal leaders celebrated as a “historic milestone” for sovereignty and self-determination, the Mi’kmaq Nation opened a tribal court and a substance abuse recovery center in Presque Isle on Thursday.
The buildings at 1 Skyspot Lane are feet apart from each other and steps away from the rest of the nation’s campus on the footprint of the former Presque Isle Air Force Base.
By establishing the court, the Mi’kmaq become the fourth of Maine’s four Wabanaki Nations to set up their own judiciary. The recovery resource center is Maine’s first such facility on tribal land and is open to anyone, whether they are Mi’kmaq or not.
The court will start hearing cases in October, director Norma Saulis said. It will primarily deal with family court matters and certain civil cases. Judge Eric Mehnert, who is the chief justice of the Penobscot and Maliseet nation courts, will preside over the court.
“Originally, the emphasis was on transferring family cases like the [Indian Child Welfare Act] cases out of the three courts in Aroostook County to lighten their load. So we’re in the process of wanting to do that,” Saulis said.
The tribal court will also serve as a healing to wellness court, a specialized tribal drug court focused on restorative justice for non-violent offenders. The Penobscot, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy nations all also operate some form of healing to wellness courts.
Next door at the Msit No’kmaq Resource Center, health professionals are prepared to help offenders with substance abuse disorders manage their recovery.
Inside, there are rooms for group meetings of Narcotics Anonymous or Wellbriety — a 12-step indigenous recovery program rooted in cultural healing. Individuals can meet with therapists or case managers. An office space provides computers that those in recovery can use to apply for jobs or other services. There are two kitchens, several bathrooms with showers and a laundry room.
The center will work “hand-in-hand” with the healing to wellness court, Saulis said.
“It eliminates that transportation barrier,” Peer Recovery Coordinator Erik Lamoreau said. “It’s holistic when people in recovery can work with the court.”
Lamoreau has spent the past three years developing peer recovery programs for the Mi’kmaq. Having a physical space to bring people is a major improvement, Lamoreau said.
“One of the biggest barriers was transportation, and we tackled the transportation, bought a vehicle, worked through that. And in the end, we had no place to go,” he said. “I used to pick unhoused people up in cars that were using substances and I’d ask them what they wanted to do today. 99% of the time, it was ‘I need someplace to shower.’ Now we can do that.”
There are no publicly available data on substance use among the indigenous population in northern Maine. But nationally, indigenous people are twice as likely to die from a drug overdose and more than five times as likely to die of an alcohol-induced death compared to the general U.S. population, according to federal data. There is a “big need” for this type of recovery services in Aroostook County, Lamoreau said.
“I really wanted to make a center that was not just about recovery, but about all your basic needs,” Lamoreau said.
“There’s no cost. There’s no obligation. You sign in, you sign the agreement, and you can enjoy the amenities that we offer here. You can bring your laundry over and do it. You can search on the Internet and sign up for a job. It’s a great space to be able to do that kind of stuff.”