Within Wabanaki societies it has long been understood that it’s not the financial status of any nation that determines its social condition; it’s the status of women and children that measure its wealth.

Mary Bassett, a Passamaquoddy great-grandmother, explains that, “traditionally and historically native women’s values determined the course of leadership for the welfare of the entire community. In some native communities this is still the norm where this practice is adhered. Before European contact, women decided how food from the hunt would be distributed; after contact, marriage was instituted in Native society to ensure

that male rule prevailed.”

According to a recent focus on economic growth for Native Americans aired on “Maine Watch” (PBS, Jan. 7) and “Maine Things Considered” (Maine Public Radio, Jan. 4), those who had previously vigorously opposed Maine tribes in 2003, which include Savvy Inc. and Maine’s Council of Churches, are now promising something new. Something about this change in sentiment appears to be more like the waters off Head Harbor Passage: confused. Besides making light of his adversarial history with the Passamaquoddy tribe, Dennis Bailey, president of Savvy, admitted on PBS that he was “not all that familiar in the ways that the tribes operate.”

At the same time, Bailey expressed certainty about liquefied natural gas being a good deal for the tribe. Even more perplexing, during a news broadcast on MPR, it was reported that Maine’s Council of Churches are raising money intended to lend a hand in tribal initiatives, which include housing projects, and a LNG terminal. Deanna Francis, a tribal elder opposing LNG states, “While these people may be concerned about souls and money, we are concerned about our safety, our souls, and our land.”

Against the recent swell of corporate backed lobbying and PBS coverage for Quoddy Bay LLC (an Oklahoma-based energy company), those who might want to “grow” our economy, without first supporting our struggle for sustainable development, need to stop describing us in exaggerated, broken terms. If investors or Maine’s Council of Churches now want to ally with indigenous independence, put the money (being raised for LNG) and good will directly into Native women’s lives and Native people will have prosperity.

Accomplish that, and we will come to see economic equity and environmental justice. After all, the displacement of Native women from their traditional role was no accident. Like LNG, it was another ill-thought development scheme.

Once again it is genocide of a way of life.

Much like the nonbinding referendum held on Aug. 17, 2004 at Pleasant Point, which concerned a question asking Sipayik members whether to host aN LNG terminal, the casino no vote (2003) was a false positive. Meaning, inflating one fact while ignoring critical information only bolsters one’s position, overly relying on it doesn’t change

reality – it only skews it. You have only to look as far as Maine’s racino referendum result to begin to understand this truth.

During the CasinosNO! 2003 campaign, Savvy got way too much credit for something that was already in the cards.

Make no mistake – it wasn’t Savvy or their outrageous fees that guaranteed a victory for the opponents to an Indian casino. But it was the absence of Native women’s voices in the critical decision-making leading up to the casino effort that tribal leaders have to now re-evaluate, and contend with as their principal miscalculation.

Our survival as indigenous people has always rested upon the shoulders, backs, and hearts of Native women. The sooner Savvy, et al. accept this simple fact, the sooner the LNG problem gets resolved, and the sooner it will be realized that LNG type industrial complexes are in conflict with the cultural and spiritual values of the Passamaquoddy people.

The marriage between Quoddy Bay LLC and Savvy emerges as a gross twist and mockery of wills. After all, the previous work of Savvy not only capitalized on indigenous initiatives and struggle, its primary aim was to disrupt the autonomy of Native people.

Yet, even after being denied twice by tribal council for employment to handle its LNG marketing machine (Oct. 15 and Dec. 7, 2004), Savvy secures the job for shoring up support for LNG anyway. What does this tell us? If the majority of those opposed to LNG locally are Native women, and their families, exactly who is Savvy going to fight this time? It’s a dynamic that we cannot for a moment pretend is all about economic development. This time Savvy has moved indigenous struggle for independence into a repulsive realm. It’s clearly a reflection of the magnitude of things to come, of what can emerge from LNG in Maine.

Is it more about genocide than about LNG? Is it more about genocide of cultural, spiritual values of minds and hearts of native people or genocide of the Passamaquoddy people themselves and their surrounding neighbors in Washington County?

While I believe LNG in Maine to be another grand manipulation, there doesn’t seem to be any lack of opportunists managing to cash in on our economic woes. Because hidden systems of benefit and privilege are also at play here, question Bailey’s downplay of his “lack of knowledge” of Passamaquoddy protocol and glib claims denying that any previous power of influence used against the Passamaquoddy mitigates his current role for Quoddy Bay LLC. My biggest concern about LNG is that we don’t really know what the spiritual and cultural impacts will be for Passamaquoddy membership.

What we do know is that our concerns and questions about Quoddy Bay LLC and LNG have neither been premature or exaggerated; our concerns are legitimate and need to be expressed. More important, our concerns and questions need to be heard and answered.

Because it’s a gamble of the worst possible kind, write to Gov. Baldacci or your congressional representatives and let them know: No dice for LNG.

If nothing else let all those now posturing to profit at our expense know that, Maine’s coast will not become the national sacrifice zone.

Vera Francis, a lifelong resident of Sipayik, is an educator and activist.