The bill, a pared down version of a larger tribal sovereignty bill, would give Wabanaki Nation tribes greater authority to prosecute crimes that occur on tribal lands.
The Maine legislature is once again considering a bill that would restore the sovereignty of Maine’s Indigenous tribes. The 41-page bill proposes implementing recommendations from a 2020 task force report that called for updating the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. The bill is the third tribal sovereignty to be introduced in the Maine legislature in recent years.
House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross presented a sweeping bill Monday to expand the rights of Maine tribes to govern themselves, but negotiations are focused on a few specific reforms that supporters say have a chance to pass this year.