Finally, a bill reshaping the government’s relationships with the Indigenous people in the state is before the Maine Legislature and Gov. Mills.

Tribes in Maine have disproportionately high rates of hunger, poverty and poor health, largely the result of decades of discrimination and exclusion. But because of the limitations on their sovereignty, they cannot address these problems with the force they would like. Kevin Miller/Staff Writer, File

Rarely have the people in their position had such a chance to correct a historical wrong, and to change the future for generations to come. We hope that they take it.

We hope, too, that they see what is truly happening with this landmark bill.

By passing a law that allows the Maine tribes to govern themselves, the state would not be giving them new rights. Instead, they would be restoring rights the tribes had for thousands of years, and that are already enjoyed by all other Native tribes in the United States.

Importantly, they would be recognizing that those rights have always existed, even if they weren’t written in state statute.

THEFT AND BRUTALITY

In the centuries following the arrival of European settlers, the relationship with the indigenous people was marked by theft, violence, and discrimination. Deep into the 20th century, even, tribal people were treated as wards of the state, or worse, mistreated and ruled over by government officials who thought they knew better.

It was out of that atmosphere of distrust and brutality that came the 1980 Maine Settlement Acts, which ended the tribes’ land claims and put in place a legal arrangement that treated them more as a municipality than a sovereign people. Though they kept rights to ill-defined “internal tribal matters,” as well as some hunting and fishing rights, the tribes forfeited the self-governance afforded the 570 other federally recognized tribes.

“The Settlement Acts basically removed the ability of the tribes to develop governmental, economic, and legal institutions that enhance their sovereignty and match their culture,” Steven Brimley, a Belfast-based anthropologist who helped the Penobscot Nation and other tribes on developing their judicial systems, told the Press Herald last week.

Since the Settlement Acts were signed, dozens upon dozens of federal laws have passed benefiting tribes across the country. Because of the agreement, Maine’s tribes have not been able to take advantage of them.

UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES

That’s why there are no casinos on tribal land in Maine, as there are in many other places. Unable to build one on their own authority, tribes here had to seek permission through referendum, where their plans were rejected, even as voters approved gaming sites elsewhere.

The unique circumstances in Maine also keep tribes from taxing or regulating development on their own lands. Their courts have limited jurisdiction, and they don’t qualify for federal funding that other tribes receive.

The inequitable agreement is also the source of “chaos and distrust” in the tribal-state relationship, as Penobscot Nation ambassador Maulian Dana put it in a conversation with the Press Herald’s Colin Woodard last week.

Tribes in Maine have disproportionately high rates of hunger, poverty and poor health, largely the result of decades of discrimination and exclusion. But because of the limitations on their sovereignty, they cannot address these problems with the force they would like.

Elsewhere, when tribes can self-govern, good things happen, both on tribal lands and in the communities surrounding them. “The overall pattern is quite clear that once tribes have the kind of sovereignty Maine’s tribes are seeking, they basically perform better – economically and socially – and that’s a benefit to everyone,” another expert told the Press Herald.

However it turns out, the tribes should have that chance.

RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNANCE

Gov. Mills isn’t so sure. Instead of full sovereignty, the governor favors a more limited approach through another bill, one which would end some state taxes, allow sports betting facilities on tribal land, and set up a new information-sharing process between state agencies and the tribes.

As tribal leaders and others have said, it’s a good bill but no replacement for tribal sovereignty.

Hearings on the bills were held last week. Work sessions will follow, then a vote on whether to send them to Mills’ desk.

First and foremost, lawmakers and the governor should keep in mind that the tribes governed themselves for thousands of years on the land we now call Maine.

Their right to self-governance persists. Those rights never should have been up for negotiation in the first place, and no one should be able to deny them today.

They should be recognized, finally, for the inherent rights that they are.