Wabanaki alliance kicks off conference

INDIAN ISLAND – Tribal leaders from across Canada and New England officially opened the annual Wabanaki Confederacy Conference on Tuesday with the aim of finding a renewed energy in tackling tribal matters and a finding a unified voice on tribal issues.

“We have a lot to consider this week, but we are strong people, which is why we are still here,” Penobscot Indian Nation Chief Kirk Francis said Tuesday.

Not only is the conference a chance for the tribes to reconnect on a spiritual and cultural level, it also gives leaders the opportunity to discuss issues affecting all the tribes.

The focus of this year’s gathering is expected to be tribal sovereignty. But border issues for tribes that span from Maine into Canada, how to deal with rising fuel costs, and overall improvement of life for native people also are likely to be addressed, Francis said.

Traditionally, the term Wabanaki refers to the Algonquin tribes – Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac and Maliseet – but other tribes and special guests have been invited to discuss issues pertinent to American Indians in the region.

Francois Gauthier, consul general of France in Boston, arrived on Indian Island on Tuesday, and a delegation from Venezuela was expected to arrive Wednesday.

Both countries have cultural and economic government-to-government relationships with the Penobscots, and Francis said it’s important to share that connection with other tribes attending the conference.

“There is a great history, a great past,” Gauthier said.

He said he’s looking forward to exploring cultural opportunities with the Algonquin tribes, in which tribal members could visit France to share their traditions and culture.

“I think it’s a great vehicle of cultural extensions between the Indian Nations and France,” he said.

The Wabanaki Confederacy is an alliance of the Wabanaki Nations that allowed them to negotiate with Europeans, share their cultures with one another, and address issues in a unified manner.

In addition to exploring cultural options and economic development opportunities, tribal leaders are expected to pass unified resolutions this week on issues such as sovereignty, environmental and sustenance rights, and indigenous rights in general.

“The most important thing that those resolutions represent is a unified voice,” Francis said.

The United States and Canada were two of four countries that voted against the recently passed Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, leaving the Northeast tribes to question where they stand, former Penobscot Nation Chief James Sappier said Tuesday.

Sappier helped to organize this year’s conference, and said he hopes that the chiefs can share ideas and develop strategies on moving forward.

“We keep hoping things will change, but they don’t,” Sappier said. “There doesn’t seem to be a respect for tribal chiefs.”

Tribal leaders and invited guests will continue to meet throughout the week and are expected to provide an update Thursday regarding resolutions that have been passed.

“I hope what we get out of this week is a renewed energy,” Francis said in his opening remarks. “These things can no longer be compromised.”

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