BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 15, 2022
The issue of tribal rights has been an emotional and complex subject during Gov. Janet Mills’ tenure after she vowed to repair relationships with the Wabanaki people. But she has balked at the state giving up the level of control the tribes want by revising a 1980 land-claims settlement to put them on equal footing with other federally recognized tribes. An amended version of the bill would give three of Maine’s four tribes expanded authority over fishing, hunting and natural resources on their lands, sovereign immunity from being sued unless they choose to waive that immunity under federal Indian law, gaming rights and the ability to tax people on their own lands while being free from state income tax law. It passed on a 8-6 vote in the judiciary panel, but it has a hard road to avoid a veto from the Democratic governor.