INDIAN ISLAND — Officials from the state of Maine have apologized to the Penobscot Nation after state police stopped a number of buses carrying people to high stakes bingo games on Indian Island.

Penobscot Indian Chief Kirk Francis called the Sept. 10 stops “a slap in the face” to tribal sovereignty.

On Thursday, tribal officials met with Public Safety Commissioner John Morris and state police Col. Robert Williams to discuss the incident.

On Sept. 10, three members of the state police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit drove onto Indian Island and boarded nine buses used to take customers to high stakes bingo games.

The Bangor Daily News says the team issued four summonses and eight warnings for a variety of commercial vehicle infractions.

Comments are no longer available on this story