It’s been more than a year since the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission has met. Without participation from the tribes, long-vacant seats and the resignation next month of its chairman, the commission is defunct. It is not too late to revive it.

Gov. John Baldacci can do so by appointing a cabinet-level official, especially one with economic development or environmental expertise since these are the tribes’ primary areas of concern, to the panel. The tribes, angered last fall by voters’ rejection of their plans to build a casino in southern Maine and the governor’s role in the election, must then return to the table.

Frustrated as they are that disputes over tribal sovereignty have not been resolved, or when they have, not in their favor, members of the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe left the commission last November. Since then, there have been no MITSC meetings, the executive director has resigned and its chairman plans to leave in December.

In the past year, the governor has met privately with the tribes on a number of issues, including economic development projects such as the Penobscot Nation’s proposal to import lower cost drugs from Canada for resale to Maine residents. Such meetings should continue, but they are not a replacement for regular MITSC meetings. The commission is the only place where the public can officially voice its concerns about matters involving the tribes.

There is currently much unrest among Washington County residents about plans by the Passamaquoddy Tribe for a liquefied natural gas terminal on their reservation. Nontribal members feel they have been excluded from discussions of the project, although the tribe has held meetings in neighboring communities. MITSC could have provided a forum for a broader discussion of the project and its benefits and risks.

Gov. Baldacci says he will soon appoint the final state member to the panel. When he does, MITSC should begin meeting again and regular attendance, from both tribal and state officials, would be essential.

So would revised expectations of what the commission is and what it can achieve. Tribal members have long hoped that the commission would rewrite the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. While the scope of the act can and should be discussed at its meetings, interpretations of the act are the purview of government agencies and the courts. Rather, MITSC should be a forum for discussions that may or

may not lead to recommendations for changes in state policy. Assigning an official liaison between MITSC and the state Legislature would give the group a stronger voice and should be done.

The tribes have let their displeasure be known. Now, they should return to the table to work with a governor that has been receptive to their ideas and needs.