According to a press release, dated December 5, 2022, from the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development released a research report documenting the costs to the Wabanaki Nations in Maine—Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot—and to Maine’s non-tribal citizens of the non-application of federal Indian laws that promote Indian self-determination and self-governance. In an attempt to help address this issue, earlier this year, Rep. Jared Golden introduced HR 6707, a bill to amend the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act so that the Wabanaki tribes can benefit from future federal laws that generally apply to 570 other federally recognized tribes. The measure was ultimately added on to another bill and passed the House with bipartisan support. It failed in the Senate because it was not supported by Maine's U.S. Senators.
In this letter to a congressional committee MITSC described its long experience and views regarding the impact of the Settlement restrictions on the application of federal Indian laws in Maine.
The testimony of MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey provided to the Judiciary Committee on April 4, 2014 in support of LD 308 An Act To Require the Attorney General To Consult with Federally Recognized Indian Tribes before Issuing an Opinion on Federal Legislation Affecting the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.
US Senator Susan Collins' 5/28/13 response to MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey's 5/13/13 letter.
The response of MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey to US Senator Susan Collins' 4/8/13 letter.
Senator Collins replied to MITSC's 3/26/13 letter addressed to her.
MITSC wrote to Senator Collins March 26, 2013 concerning her actions on the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act during the fall/winter of 2012 and to remind her of MITSC's role.
Paul D. Stern's, Chief, Litigation Division, Maine Office of the Attorney General, reply to Carol Woodcock, State Office Representative to US Senator Susan Collins, on whether an amendment to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act would apply to the Wabanaki Tribes.
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