State of Maine needs to apologize to Indians

On June 11, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized to Canada’s native people in the House of Commons and on national television and radio stating, “Today we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and has no place in our country.”

I was heartened when I heard about this national apology. It is true that an apology in and of itself cannot heal the deep wounds or the lives that were destroyed by this government’s policy and practices, but it is a first step. To begin anew, the past must be understood and acknowledged so that the abuses of the past will never be repeated. The Canadian government has followed the steps of South Africa in establishing a Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine its policy of assimilation and forcible removal of children from their families and its effect on aboriginal people.

It is time that the state of Maine does the same. There is an inherent lack of trust between the tribes and this state government. Historically the state of Maine has played the role of a strict and controlling parent. Dictating to the tribes what is best for them and, yes, even taking away native children from their families as well as land and resources. There is a long history of mistreatment much like what the Canadian Indians have experienced.

The time has come to throw some light on the past so that we can understand what happened. Maine people need to understand the state policy toward the tribes and how it affected families and individuals.

On April 15, the Maine House and Senate passed a joint resolution in support of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The Maine Legislature voted to support indigenous rights. Now the governor needs to follow the lead of the Legislature and the Canadian prime minister.

Gov. John Baldacci should begin by acknowledging historic mistreatment of the tribes and apologizing for that mistreatment. The most important action he should take would be to create a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine the state’s past and present policies and practices and their effects on the tribes. This would include the historical taking of our four townships as well as events leading up to the Settlement Act. This would throw some light on past events that have caused much bitterness between the tribes and the state.

If the tribes and the state are ever to have a productive and fruitful relationship, the state must end its paradigm of paternalism and recognize tribes as full partners who want to contribute to the common good of their homeland. The Canadian Liberal leader Stephane Dion said it best: “Today’s apology is about a past that should have been completely different, but it must also be about the future. It must be about collective reconciliation and fundamental changes. It must be about moving forward together, aboriginal and nonaboriginal, into a future based on respect.”

Maine cannot flourish until it makes things right with the First Nations.

Donna Loring is the Penobscot Nation representative to the Maine Legislature.