The governor’s veto of the bill to allow the Penobscot Nation to operate slot machines at its Indian Island high-stakes beano facility and the Legislature’s failure to overturn that decision was “the last nail in the coffin” for tribal officials. Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis said Wednesday that he’s ready to dissolve the Penobscots’ relationship with the state in order to move forward in the tribe’s best interest.

“This relationship’s brought nothing but disappointment,” Francis said. “We’re going to go through our tribal process and legislate our own future. I’m not going to spend any more time in Augusta talking about these issues to an administration that quite frankly just doesn’t care.”

Francis is attending a conference in Texas, but said by phone Wednesday that he and the Penobscot Tribal Council and other leaders will review the tribe’s position when he returns. The Penobscots are considered a sovereign nation that has control over its internal tribal matters.

LD 701 would have allowed the Penobscot Nation to operate 100 slot machines at its Indian Island beano operation during beano events.

The House vote of 94-49 to override the veto was less than the two-thirds vote needed to overturn Baldacci’s decision.

In vetoing the bill, Baldacci restated his position that an expansion of gambling must be approved by voters through the signature-gathering and referendum process.

“I’m not shocked that he vetoed the bill. I’m just shocked with the kind of dirty pool that happens after that to make sure that the veto’s upheld,” Francis said, referring to lobbying and compromises that he said were made on bills to ensure that representatives voted in favor of the governor’s decision.

“They worked very hard to clip off our support, and we lost by two votes,” Francis said.

Baldacci’s staff denied the allegations.

“We did do headcounts of votes. We asked people their position beforehand, and we do that on most important pieces of legislation that the governor has,” Baldacci spokesman David Farmer said Wednesday. “We do not swap votes.”

He added that the governor’s position on gambling hasn’t changed.

“There has not been any wavering. There has not been any hedging on it,” Farmer said. “We recognize that there’s a lot of bitterness that surrounds this issue. It’s just too bad there’s so much animosity.”

Penobscot Nation tribal Rep. Donna Loring also said she wasn’t surprised by Baldacci’s veto.

“We wanted him to sign it into law or to veto it to give us a chance to try to override, and he did that,” Loring said. “But we were short by two votes. We tried to do some maneuvers to [have the House] reconsider the bill, but it didn’t work out.”

Both Loring and Francis noted the importance of recognizing the state leaders who remained supportive of the tribe.

“It took a lot of guts and a lot of empathy on their part to be willing to do that,” Loring said. “It took real courage.”

In addition to the slots bill, the Penobscots had several issues in front of the Legislature this session that were very important to the tribe, Francis noted. None of those bills turned out the way the Penobscots had hoped.

. After years of work on an estimated 30 proposed changes to the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, only a few were considered by the Judiciary Committee for review.

. Funding for the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission was drastically slashed as part of statewide budget cuts. The nearly $40,000 cut – about 53 percent of the budget – came after commission officials were assured it would be closer to $2,500. The commission was created to help resolve disputes and recommend changes about the act.

. And an attempt to expand the Penobscot Nation’s reservation by adding property that is currently considered Penobscot trust land was denied before ever reaching the floor for debate. This dampens the tribe’s ability to address the lack of housing available to tribal members.

“This isn’t just about slot machines. I know this will come across strong, but I think it’s important that people understand that we’ve tried,” Francis said. “I’m not saying we haven’t created some of our own problems over the years, but in the long run when you have to set an agenda to get permission to ask for your tribe’s own success … you can understand why the tribes get frustrated. We have the same responsibility they have to their constituents.”

When asked what the impact of the decision to end the tribal-state relationship would be, Francis said it would be “very, very minimal in terms of resources we receive from the state.”

Most of the tribe’s funding comes from the federal government.

“What are you really losing by continuing to jeopardize your way of life, your culture, the protection of your rivers and lands … that’s what I have to weigh,” Francis said. “The tribe, our culture and my responsibility to people have to come first. Without that, there’s no more Wabanaki tribes. There’s no more Penobscot Nation.”

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