Now is the moment for the Native tribes of Maine. Now is the moment for members of the legislative and executive branches of Maine state government. Do they want to be remembered as leaders, who finally granted full sovereignty to our Native peoples? Or do they want their names added to the list of those who perpetuated 400 years of genocide, land theft, broken promises, cultural erasure and racial discrimination?
A rationale for not supporting L.D. 1626 is the claim that the tribes would take control of land and regulations away from towns and municipalities and their non-Native citizens. The land in the state of Maine does not belong to those groups. It belongs solely to the original Native inhabitants, who have lived here for 12,000 years.
Government leaders should put aside their lawyer mindsets and recognize the moral imperative in supporting L.D. 1626. It is time to give the tribes in Maine the rights that the other 574 tribes in the U.S. have. Our leaders should publicly encourage the passage and signing of L.D. 1626 to right centuries of egregious wrongs and create a historic moment of which all citizens of Maine, and their descendants, can long be proud.
Nancy Zugehoer
Brunswick
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