Vacant Commission

With seven of nine members gone, the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission is not operating currently, a serious loss as the tribes and the state have several difficult issues to solve together. Gov. Baldacci, who is due to name three new members to the commission, can help revive this important board by ensuring that his nominations are sufficiently influential in his cabinet to affect policy.

Similarly, the four tribal members – two each from the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe – should return to address economic development, sovereignty and cultural issues that are best solved through the formal process the commission provides. Passamaquoddy members walked out of the commission the day after the November vote that defeated their casino proposal, an outcome Gov. Baldacci worked hard to ensure. Penobscot members quickly followed. The result has been months of inaction while less formal talks between tribal members and the state have taken place.

Cushman Anthony, an attorney from Falmouth who is chairman of the commission, recently observed that, “We’re letting an important institution for resolving tribal-state issues shrivel up and blow away.” Indeed, if the two sides cannot return to regular meetings soon, the commission could become permanently idle. That would be unfortunate. MITSC has resolved disputes over hunting and fishing rules, worked out disagreements between the state and tribes over child-welfare standards, was a strong advocate for teaching Wabanaki cultural traditions in Maine schools – a state curriculum is now being created – briefs lawmakers about tribal concerns and annually assembles governors and chiefs to hear each other’s concerns.

Such a meeting is needed now around the issue of tribal sovereignty, in particular, for instance, as it applies to freedom-of-access laws. The tribes protested to the Maine supreme court the requirement that they provide documents to paper companies in a dispute over water quality. The tribes recognize that on occasion they will be treated as municipalities under the Claims Settlement Act, but they do not agree with the application in this case or in others. The commission is the forum in which to raise concerns on sovereignty and look for solutions acceptable to both sides.

For the commission to be influential, however, it must have members of stature from the Baldacci administration. At least one cabinet-level appointment would be appropriate, as would a strong statement from the governor that he intends to listen to the commission’s recommendations and an indication that he appreciates the common challenges the tribes and state face as well as the unique challenges for the tribes. Most important is to get both sides meeting again and not let this valuable means of communication die.