Tribal-State Relations

Donna Loring’s commentary provides an alternative perspective on Native American sovereignty in Maine, looking at the sometimes contentious process of tribal-state relations

Should I call her or just show up?

Handwritten note between Donna Loring and Deb, regarding a meeting, showing both answer and reply.https://dune.une.edu/loring_cor/1002/thumbnail.jp

Letter from Donna Loring to Beverly C. Daggett and Patrick Colwell, November 20, 2003.

Two page typed letter from Donna Loring to Beverly C. Daggett and Patrick Colwell, dated November 20, 2003, urging them to approve a State of the Tribes Address to a Joint Legislative Session.https://dune.une.edu/sincerelyyours_multi/1003/thumbnail.jp

Will the jt rules be voted on before the caucus?

Handwritten note between Donna Loring and Bill, regarding legislative matters, showing both sides of the conversation.https://dune.une.edu/loring_cor/1001/thumbnail.jp

Racism in Maine: Beyond Black and White

This panel discussion examined the impact of institutional racism and cultural genocide. Panelists discussed racism’s effect on Maine’s Tribal communities, the legacy of slavery in Maine, the role of faith communities in combating racism today, and how the model of community policing can change the relationship between communities of color and law enforcement. Panelists also examined how daily experiences of racism affect people’s physical, mental and spiritual well-being

One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance

This Remonstrance presents a counter-cultural narrative and analysis of Maine’s legal, political, economic, and social interactions with the Wabanaki people. Although contemporary indicia of abuses by the State are glaringly obvious, a cohesive modern narrative that incorporates Maine’s history of predation upon and mistreatment of the tribes has remained poorly defined from an historico-legal perspective. Presenting its analysis through an historic, legal, political, economic, and social nexus, this Remonstrance traces the ontogeny of control exerted by the State of Maine over the Wabanaki tribes and endeavors to excavate the hidden historical narrative of the calculated politico-legal regime that has for two-hundred years driven the State’s coercive policies. In so doing, this Remonstrance examines the economic imperatives of the early American and Maine governments and the outgrowth of policies aimed at generating wealth from the stolen resources of Wabanaki tribal lands through an in-depth analysis of the transcripts of the legislative hearings (referred to here as the “Indian Papers”) that led to the commissioning of the Proctor Report of 1942.These Indian Papers are undeniable primary evidence memorializing the strategy the State undertook to affect a regime of isolation, control, and elimination of the tribes. The Authors believe that the Indian Papers and other documents analyzed herein have been heretofore neglected as competent evidence of Maine’s conscious orchestration of coercive policies carried out and retroactively legitimized through fraudulent jurisprudence. Through critical analysis, the Authors arrive at the conclusion that not only did the State of Maine have actual knowledge and intent to thrust an illegitimate politico-legal regime of suppression upon the tribes, but—despite acknowledging its past bad acts—it consciously chose to adopt many of these same tactics more than one hundred years later

One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance

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Racial Justice in Maine State Policy: Understanding the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations was established in 2019 to examine systemic racial disparities in Maine and advise all three branches of Maine government on public policy changes that would make racial equity a central consideration in Maine lawmaking. Why is the Commission needed? What has it accomplished thus far, and what urgent matters is it taking up this fall? Through informal conversation with Donna Loring and audience Q&A, the guest speakers will address these and other important questions

One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance

In April of 2022, Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations issued a report, One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance, outlining the history of tribal relations with the State of Maine and suggesting a framework for remedying those relations—for redressing the centuries of fraud and cultural genocide perpetrated by the state. This event will feature the report’s three co-authors, each of whom will share their unique perspective on the project and what it means for our community and the work before us today. The report is available here

One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance

This Remonstrance presents a counter-cultural narrative and analysis of Maine’s legal, political, economic, and social interactions with the Wabanaki people. Although contemporary indicia of abuses by the State are glaringly obvious, a cohesive modern narrative that incorporates Maine’s history of predation upon and mistreatment of the tribes has remained poorly defined from an historico-legal perspective. Presenting its analysis through an historic, legal, political, economic, and social nexus, this Remonstrance traces the ontogeny of control exerted by the State of Maine over the Wabanaki tribes and endeavors to excavate the hidden historical narrative of the calculated politico-legal regime that has for two-hundred years driven the State’s coercive policies. In so doing, this Remonstrance examines the economic imperatives of the early American and Maine governments and the outgrowth of policies aimed at generating wealth from the stolen resources of Wabanaki tribal lands through an in-depth analysis of the transcripts of the legislative hearings (referred to here as the “Indian Papers”) that led to the commissioning of the Proctor Report of 1942.These Indian Papers are undeniable primary evidence memorializing the strategy the State undertook to affect a regime of isolation, control, and elimination of the tribes. The Authors believe that the Indian Papers and other documents analyzed herein have been heretofore neglected as competent evidence of Maine’s conscious orchestration of coercive policies carried out and retroactively legitimized through fraudulent jurisprudence. Through critical analysis, the Authors arrive at the conclusion that not only did the State of Maine have actual knowledge and intent to thrust an illegitimate politico-legal regime of suppression upon the tribes, but—despite acknowledging its past bad acts—it consciously chose to adopt many of these same tactics more than one hundred years later