Indian Land Claims Settlement is far from a done deal
More than 40 years ago, in 1980, the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement was signed, sealed and delivered. Maine’s four Native American tribes were awarded $80 million by the Federal government as part of the settlement. It is a long complex document, which proclaims in part, that the tribes, in exchange for the settlement money, agree to the “extinguishment of titles and claims.” The settlement language also asserts that “All Indians in the State of Maine are and shall be subject to all laws of the state.”
By definition, a settlement is supposed to be just that, a done deal. Well, so much for that. The entire period after that landmark settlement has been an unending sovereignty dispute between the tribes and the state. The settlement has been amended at least 48 times. In 2019, the Maine Indian Claims Task Force was assembled, and eventually drafted a proposal to overhaul the original settlement that includes 22 recommended changes, all intended to mollify the tribes.
In 2015, a tribal leader protested,”We do not recognize the authority of the state of Maine, its governor, Legislature or courts to define our sovereignty or culture or to interfere with our self-governing rights.”
Ironically, when the settlement was drafted by Congress, its justification for proceeding was to avoid a drawn out litigation process “which would consume many years and promote hostility and uncertainty in the state of Maine.”
In the area of fish and game laws, the tribes want the legal right to favor tribal members over non-members in the enforcement of fishing and hunting regulations. The tribes also want to disallow the state fish and wildlife commissioner the authority to regulate fishing bag limits on tribal land. Additionally, the tribes do not want to be required to maintain game tagging stations or report registered wildlife to the state.
Much of this is contrary to the 1980 Indian Land Claims Settlement. What we seem to be witnessing over time is unrelenting incrementalism, the slow but sure dismantling of the 1980 contract between the tribes and the state of Maine.
Within the realm of fish and game regulations, the tribes have a pretty good deal. For example, in sustenance fishing, a tribal member can possess 10 Atlantic salmon. Tribal members have exclusive opportunities – which non-tribal Maine citizens don’t enjoy – for spring bear hunts, Sunday hunting, and deer hunting in July and August, among others.
Most reasonable people recognize the historical injustices that were visited upon Native Americans in the early years. Righting those wrongs has been a process that may not yet be concluded, but, when it comes to public opinion, the tribal leaders do themselves and their tribal members a disservice when they insist upon an anachronistic brand of sovereignty that existed centuries ago.