MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 18, 2022
In the absence of a political one-eighty, hope for a historic restoration of rights held by Maine’s four tribal nations is about to be dashed again. A bill to expand their rights, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, passed the House. We now know that the bill, which is designed to allow Maine’s tribes to take advantage of all future federal Indian laws, is unlikely to gain enough support in the Senate to be adopted. The shirking of reform in the name of eventual negotiation is becoming harder and harder to take seriously. This disrespectful approach corrodes state-tribal relations.