#WabanakiWindows on #WMPG!

March 24, 2026: "This show features Evan Richert and Roger Milliken Jr., two longtime leaders in land use, planning, and conservation in Maine.

"They took a close look at the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act to answer a key question: who is right—the State or the #WabanakiNations?

"Their conclusion is clear—the Wabanaki Nations’ interpretation is correct, and the State’s position deserves closer scrutiny.

"We’ll talk about what they found, why Maine stands apart on Tribal sovereignty, and what it means for the future of justice in our state."

Audio archive:
https://www.wmpg.org/wmpg-podcasts/wabanaki-windows/

#CommunityRadio #CommunitySupportedRadio #CollegeRadio #WMPGFM #NativeAmericanNews #LandBack #SettlementAct #MainePol #Podcasts #NativeAmericanIssues #MaineTribes #WabanakiAlliance #Sovereignty #WabanakiNations #TribalRights #WabanakiConfederacy #IndigenousSovereignty #PassamaquoddyNation #PenobscotNation #HoultonBandOfMaliseetIndians #MikmaqNation

Wabanaki Windows on #WERU!

"#WabanakiWindows presents a timely conversation on the past, present, and future of #Wabanaki #sovereignty featuring #WabanakiAlliance Executive Director #MaulianBryant and Professor #DarrenRanco.

The program examines the impact of the 1980 Maine Indian Land Claims #SettlementAct, the formation of the Wabanaki Alliance, and the #legislation shaping the current session. There will be a part two at a later date!"

Airs January 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM on WERU — WERU.org

https://archives.weru.org/category/wabanaki-windows/

#MainePol #Sovereignty #WabanakiNations #TribalRights #WabanakiConfederacy #IndigenousSovereignty #MaineTribes
#PassamaquoddyNation #PenobscotNation #HoultonBandOfMaliseetIndians #MikmaqNation #LandBack

In #Maine prisons, #NativeAmerican #SweatLodges are part of the program
A #Passamaquoddy elder has led over 100 sweats for inmates since 2007.

Reuben M. Schafir, Posted November 6, 2025

WINDHAM — "When the tarps of the sweat lodge are pulled back, a swirling cloud of steam wafts up toward the bear pelt draped overhead.

"It dissipates before reaching the razor wire that caps the fences around the recreation yard at the #MaineCorrectionalCenter.

"Between rounds in the ceremony, voices from inside command the retrieval of rocks warming in a fire pit a few feet away. Women carefully lift the rocks with shovels over an altar bearing a cedar bough and a turtle shell, and into the lodge.

"As Savannah Smith, 28, crawls out of the roughly 12-foot-wide structure, she grins.
'It’s a lot right now,' she said, her calves dotted with goosebumps as her body readjusts to the cool fall air after two hours inside the lodge.

"Her halting voice and still-glistening eyes give her away: 'I cried at every session we had.'

"It’s been nearly 20 years since #IndigenousPeople in Maine’s prisons won the right to practice their religion while incarcerated. Inmates say sweat ceremonies help them stay sober and connect them to their communities. And the state’s corrections commissioner heralds them as a sign of Maine’s #inclusivity and says they are part of a progressive approach to ensuring safety inside prisons and reducing the likelihood of future offenses.

"Since inmates won the right to hold sweat ceremonies, #BrianAltvater has traveled from his Down East home on the #PassamaquoddyReservation at #Sipayik (#PleasantPoint) to facilitate them. He is a #PipeCarrier and a #SweatLodgeKeeper — designations, he explained, that are chosen by the ancestors.

" 'I don’t deserve to be a pipe carrier and do this sort of work,' he told his teacher, David Gehue of #Sipeknekatik, Nova Scotia, when Gehue noticed his potential.
'Deserve’s got nothing to do with it,' Gehue, himself a respected spiritual leader, said. 'Once the ancestors pick you, you don’t have a choice.'

" 'Let me think about it,' Altvater said.

"That was several decades ago."

Read more:
https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/11/06/in-maine-prisons-native-american-sweat-lodges-are-part-of-the-program

Archived version:
https://archive.md/ImwsD

#WabanakiNews #PassamaquoddyNation #IndigenousNews #RightToPracticeReligion

#Sovereignty Starts Here: Land, Economy, and #TribalRights in #Maine

James Myall
October 14, 2025

"Maine has profited from centuries of #Wabanaki land loss. Supporting land return and sovereignty reforms is both a moral responsibility and a smart economic investment.

This report focuses on the fundamental importance of land acquisition and usage to lay out an economic case for fully recognizing the #WabanakiNations’ inherent sovereignty.

Key Facts

- For at least 13,000 years, Wabanaki people and their ancestors have cared for this region’s land, water, and natural resources through sustainable stewardship.
- About 12.5 million acres of Wabanaki territory, valued at $105 billion in 1976, were claimed by Maine before rulings showed the claims were based on invalid treaties. Between 1820 and 1980,
- Maine extracted hundreds of millions in profits from tribal land seizures and sales, resource exploitation, tourism, and taxes — without compensating the Wabanaki Nations.
- The 1980 Settlement Acts ended the federal land claims case but left the Wabanaki Nations uniquely constrained compared to other federally recognized tribes, granting the state unusual control over their affairs and sparking decades of contention over unfulfilled promises.
- The Federal government contributed $26.8 million each to trust funds for #Passamaquoddy and #Penobscot Nations to purchase a maximum of 150,000 acres each, and $900,000 for the Houlton Band of #Maliseet Indians to purchase 5,000 acres. But the funds were exhausted before the full amount of land could be secured. #Maine did not contribute any funds to the settlement.
- The federal land acquisition funding was based on a calculation of $181 per acre. A recent purchase on behalf of the Penobscot Nation was valued at more than $1,000 per acre.
- The #Mikmaq Nation did not receive any federal funding for land acquisition until 1991. Today, the Mi’kmaq Nation still faces more land acquisition restrictions than other Wabanaki Nations.
- In contrast to efforts across North America to foster tribal sovereignty, the Settlement Acts lock the Wabanaki in an outdated system that blocks access to federal programs and about $4.6 million in funding per year, limits land acquisition and usage, and stifles economic growth.
- Between 1989 and 2020, tribes in the US with full recognition of their sovereign authority had six times greater income growth per capita than Wabanaki Nations.
- Modernizing the Settlement Acts could add $330 million to Maine’s GDP each year, create 2,700 new jobs, and generate $51 million in state and local tax revenue.
- Collaboration between Wabanaki Nations and non-native organizations will secure the return of over 50,000 acres to Wabanaki communities. But the state and federal government can and should do far more to fund and facilitate land return."

Source:
www.mecep.org/maines-economy/sovereignty-starts-here/

#WabanakiNations #IndigenousSovereignty #MaineTribes #PassamaquoddyNation #PenobscotNation #HoultonBandOfMaliseetIndians #MikmaqNation #Maine #LandBack #SettlementAct

[Video] #AskomiwKsanaqak (Forever Dangerous) – #IndigenousNations Resist #NuclearColonialism

Nov 20, 2024

"Indigenous nations and communities continue to express their opposition to nuclear energy and radioactive waste. The Passamaquoddy Recognition Group (PRGI) and the CEDAR project at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada, co-produced a report and this video to amplify these Indigenous voices. Featuring Chief #HughAkagi, Chief #RonTremblay and Councillor #PeytonPitawanakwat."

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i7XtIGFqyY

The report is available here: https://cedar-project.org/indigenous
#NuclearWaste #NuclearWasteStorage #NoNukes #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #WolastoqGrandCouncil #NuclearPowerPlants #NoNukes #PeskotomuhkatiNation #PassamaquoddyNation #CEDARProject #Radioactivity #Pollution #RadioactivePollutionKills
#IndigenousNationsResistNuclearColonialism

Listening to Indigenous views

“We believe that the Earth is our Mother, and that she has been violated, she has been hurt, she has been raped, she has been damaged for far, far too long,” - Chief Ron Tremblay, Wolastoq Grand Council.

Posted on December 1, 2024 by #BeyondNuclearInternational

"The study found that overall, Indigenous nations and communities do not support the production of more nuclear waste or the transport and storage of nuclear waste on their homelands. They have made their opposition known through dozens of public statements and more than 100 submissions to the regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

"At the same time, the federal government positions nuclear energy as a strategic asset to Canada now and into the future. The government recently launched a policy to get nuclear projects approved more quickly, with fewer regulations. The government’s position has created an obvious conflict with Indigenous rights-holders.

#Radioactivity cannot be turned off – that’s what makes #NuclearWaste so dangerous. Indigenous opposition to nuclear waste is rooted in values that respect the Earth and the need to keep life safe for generations into the future. The radioactivity from high-level waste can take millennia to decay and if exposed, can damage living tissue in a range of ways and alter gene structure."

Read more:
https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2024/12/01/listening-to-indigenous-views/
#NuclearWasteStorage #NuclearColonialism #NuclearPowerPlants #NoNukes #PeskotomuhkatiNation #PassamaquoddyNation
#IndigenousNationsResistNuclearColonialism

#Wabanaki Nations, allies celebrate progress in continued fight for #sovereignty

Emma Davis
Fri, July 12, 2024

"[The alliance] honored the contributions of #RenaNewell, former #Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative to the state Legislature and former chief of the reservation at #Sipayik, and #BethAhearn, who this year retired as director of government affairs for Maine Conservation Voters, a nonprofit focused on protecting the environment and one of the earliest members of the #WabanakiAlliance.

"Newell, who currently serves as interim associate director of the Wabanaki Alliance, said it is not the work of one individual that brings success but the relationships people have with one another that allow for collective learning and movement forward together.

"During her time in the State House, Newell led efforts to expand Tribal-State coordination, including paving the way for greater sovereignty for the Passamaquoddy two years ago. Newell sponsored legislation that provided tribal members at Sipayik, also known as #PleasantPoint, more power to regulate local #DrinkingWater by, among other means, removing barriers in the #SettlementAct that had prevented the tribe from fully accessing federal funds and remediation resources that were available to other federally recognized tribes."

Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wabanaki-nations-allies-celebrate-progress-113944863.html

#WabanakiConfederacy #WaterIsLife #Maine #NativeAmericans #PassamaquoddyNation

#Kihtahkomikumon (Our Land) – Is #LandBack in #Passamaquoddy Territory

Sunlight Media Collective October 21, 2021

"In 2021, by an act of humanism, solidarity, and reparation, the #Passamaquoddy tribe has been reunited with 140 acres of their unceded Ancestral territory – part of the largest island in Kci Monosakom, (Big Lake) Maine. To the Passamaquoddy people, it’s more than land return; it is the return of a stolen family member. In this short film, we join Passamaquoddy community members who are finally able to reunite with their non-human Relative.

"Originally known as Kuwesuwi Monihq (Pine Island), and renamed 'White’s Island' by settlers, this place has deep historical and cultural significance to the Passamaquoddy community.

"The island was included as part of the Tribe’s #Modahkomikuk (Indian Township) reservation in the 1794 Treaty with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. Despite treaty agreements, #KuwesuwiMonihq, or Pine Island, was stolen from the people at some point during the mid-1800s and renamed White’s Island. In fact, it seems to have been stolen by renaming it…once it became White’s Island on the map, it no longer matched the language of the 1794 treaty, which identifies Pine Island as protected, reserved land. The island fell out of Tribal stewardship quietly as colonizers bought up parcels. Once the island was considered privately owned, the Passamaquoddy people were denied access.

"Land dispossession is a barrier to #Wabanaki people who are practicing their culture and connecting with their homelands. As Tribal Nations, we are endowed with the Sacred responsibility to protect the lands we come from. In return, these lands protect us. This understanding is at the heart of the #LandBack movement, which has taken off across Turtle Island. Passamaquoddy people can now visit Kuwesuwi Monihq safely, enjoy their kinship connection to the island, and know that they will not be asked to leave.

"In efforts to heal the Earth and the damaged relationship between Indigenous & colonizing peoples, the #LandBack movement has already seen the return of millions of acres to tribes. For the Passamaquoddy, the return of their relative, Kuwesuwi Monihq, will help them fulfill those Sacred responsibilities and heal along with the land & water. All our Relations. P’site Elakumukik. #IsLandBack."

A Sunlight Media Collective production.

Watch: https://vimeo.com/537535470

Source:
https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/kihtahkomikumon-our-land-islandback-in-passamaquoddy-territory/

#WabanakiAlliance #Maine #FirstNations #PassamaquoddyNation #StolenLand #IndigenousSovereignty #Landback #Rewilding #IndigenousKnowledge
#RestoreNature
#Wabanaki #IndigenousPeoplesDay

How to observe #IndigenousPeoplesDay in #Maine

Dan Neumann October 6, 2023

"Tribal members and supporters will rally outside the Maine State House in Augusta on Indigenous People’s Day for #Wabanaki self-determination and transparency around Maine’s #treaty obligations toward tribal nations.

"The rally, organized by the #WabanakiAlliance, a coalition that includes representatives from hundreds of organizations and businesses that support #Wabanaki inherent sovereignty, will start at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 outside the capitol and conclude at 11:30 a.m.

"Participants will be able to make signs and learn more about the 'Yes on 6' campaign ahead of the rally.

"#Question6 on the November ballot asks whether voters support requiring 'that all of the provisions of the Maine Constitution be included in the official printed copies' distributed by the state.

"The tribes are supporting the ballot measure because, since 1876, printed copies of Maine’s Constitution have omitted three sections of the original document, including one pertaining to Maine’s treaty obligations toward the tribes.

"Monday’s Indigenous People’s Day marks a crossroads for the tribes and their allies, after legislation recognizing Wabanaki sovereignty was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills last summer.

"The law would have amended the jurisdictional arrangement between the tribes and the state that Indigenous leaders have long criticized for leaving the #WabanakiNations with less authority over natural resources, gaming, taxation, criminal justice and economic development on their lands than 570 other federally recognized tribes.

"Celebration at Redbank in South Portland

"Also on Monday, the #SouthPortlandMaine #HumanRights Commission will be hosting an Indigenous People’s Day celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Redbank Community Center, located at 95 MacArthur Circle West in South Portland.

"The celebration will feature speaker Corey Hinton, a citizen of the #Passamaquoddy Tribe at #Sipayik and a lead lawyer on tribal issues in Maine.

"The Cape Elizabeth Rotary will also be serving pancakes and maple syrup sourced from #PassamaquoddyMaple, a company that is '100% tribally owned, with a mission to provide a high-end, small batch, product that will not only sustain our tribal land, but also create jobs for our people.'

"South Portland’s Indigenous People’s Day event is free, family friendly, and open to the public.

"Other events

"The #AbbeMuseum in #BarHarbor is holding a week long series of events through Oct. 9 called “#Indigenous2023 – Celebrating Our Sovereignty“, including #storytelling, a #concert and free museum admission.

"University of Maine, #Farmington [#UMF] is holding events from Oct. 16-19 including a food tasting, storytelling, a film showing and a panel discussion on how to be an ally."

Source:
https://mainebeacon.com/wabanaki-to-rally-on-indigenous-peoples-day-for-self-determination/

#IndigenousAlly #GovernmentTransparency #RespectTheTreaties #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyNation #Maliseet