The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine re-launched their podcast “Maine Policy Matters” on Sept. 6. This season of Maine Policy Matters will feature essays, research and interviews on timely topics relevant to Maine to make public policy information more accessible to policymakers; government, business and nonprofit leaders; and the general […]
Letter to the editor: Inaction on sovereignty bills sends dismissive message to tribes in Maine
Share
In an effort to target the ongoing Indigenous human rights issues happening in Maine, education and trust building are integral and inextricably intertwined parts of addressing racism against Wabanaki people in the state.
The lack of trust between the state and the tribes results in failed efforts to collaborate and produces “continued institutional processes of dehumanization and inferiority,” Wabanaki scholar Rebecca Sockbeson has found. Continued lack of support for legislation that allows for tribal self-determination, such as L.D. 2118 and L.D. 2094, sends the message that the state is not willing to engage in a government-to-government relationship with the tribes.