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News Article On a day of equality, let's not forget Maine's tribal communities Written by Ron Conant from Portland Press Herald ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ron Conant of Boothbay is a member of the Episcopal Diocese Committee on Indian Relations. BOOTHBAY — Martin Luther King Jr. Day is our nation's recognition of the birth and life of a man who called us to stand up, speak out and share basic rights with our black brothers and sisters. Dr. King preached and practiced nonviolence despite the hatred and violence directed at him and those who supported equality. In time, most Americans came to support integration and the rights of black Americans. Tragically, Dr. King (as well as others in this movement) had to give their lives before their beliefs were to be accepted. The struggles of black Americans for equal rights were not lost on other minorities. Examples include the women's rights movement and persons with a range of handicapping conditions. Both of these groups also demanded equality – in education, work and in their personal lives. Certainly we are all aware of individual differences in each one of us. However, the underlying basic rights, allowing each of us to recognize and strive toward achieving our dreams, must be universal. Full equality, however, is still a goal. Progress has been made in the area of civil rights for black Americans, as well as other minority groups, including women and persons with handicapping conditions. We do not have to look very far to see that we, as a society, have a long way to go in achieving equal rights. The current economic crisis only further highlights and increases these disparities. Recognition of these disparities can be the beginning of constructive change. We in Maine have the opportunity to review and resolve long-standing issues of inequality with our Wabanaki brothers and sisters. The Maine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights published its report in December 1974, "The Federal and State Services and the Maine Indian." Then-Maine Gov. Ken Curtis wrote in a forward to the report: "Whatever the outcome of these various steps, I'd just like to say again it is the intention of my administration to continue to work to guarantee that the Indians of Maine have equal access to the quality of life to which all Maine people aspire, but until that access is fully opened and free of obstructions there is no question that the 'trail of tears' will go on and its specter will haunt us, and Maine and the nation will have failed to fulfill their obligations to the Indians of this state." This report, 35 years old, still resonates. Many concerns noted in the report have yet to be remedied. The fundamental issue of the tribes' sovereignty remains, despite the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act. The state of Maine, in 2010 as in 1974, continues to contest Wabanaki sovereignty, including regulating wastewater discharges on Wabanaki Reservations; gaming; who has environmental authority over Wabanaki trust lands; and application of Maine's Freedom of Access Law to tribal governments. Health disparities experienced by the Wabanaki are not new issues. Health agencies need to acquire sufficient funding to address health problems experienced by the Wabanaki that are still just as real today as in 1974. In conclusion, the Maine Advisory Committee noted that: "... as a basic matter of principle, both state and federal governments re-examine their policies toward Native Americans in Maine and elsewhere, and affirm the inherent right of Indian self-determination and tribal sovereignty." Thirty-five years later, self-determination and tribal sovereignty are still dreams of the Wabanaki. Dr. King also had a dream. I believe that he would have honored the Wabanaki and all Native American dreams and rights for self-determination and sovereignty. We walk in good company when we walk with our Wabanaki brothers and sisters to their goal and right for self-determination and sovereignty. — Special to the Press Herald

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