MITSC has recently completed and published a new special report, Sea Run, which addresses the impact of Maine policies and activity on the quality and quantity of traditional tribal fish stocks and sustenance lifeways practices, spanning from the time of first contact between Europeans and the Wabanaki Nations to the present day. This report provides a broad overview of actions and inactions by the State of Maine, whether those actions/inactions were based on express policy, informal policy, or on decisions simply not to have any policy at all. The report includes specific recommendations for implementation that are intended to promote discussion and cooperative action.
Research Report on the 1876 Removal of Article X (10), Section 5 from Printed Copies of the Maine Constitution (2021). For Maine to become a state, Massachusetts first had to pass legislation called the Articles of Separation. That legislation divided and allocated public property and certain obligations as between Maine and Massachusetts once they became separate states. As part of that division, Maine assumed all the “duties and obligations” Massachusetts had as regards the “Indians within said District of Maine.” The Articles also required that its terms and conditions “be incorporated into, and become and be a part of any Constitution, provisional or other, under which the Government of the said proposed State, shall, at any time hereafter, be administered; subject however, to be modified, or annulled by the agreement of the Legislature of both the said States; but by no other power or body whatsoever." The Articles of Separation were included in the Maine Constitution as Section 5 of Article X. This was one of the Sections redacted from printed copies in 1876. Sections 1 and 2 of Article X were also redacted in 1876. They covered when the first Maine legislature would meet, when initial elections would be held, how Senate and House seats would be allocated as between the counties and towns, and what the initial terms of Maine’s elected and appointed officers would be.
This report presents archival research on and analysis of the drafting of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA), a federal law enacted in October 1980 to settle land claims brought by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Indian Nation.
This booklet is a compilation of materials presented to the participants of the Roundtable September 19, 2016.
The MITSC examination of the saltwater fisheries conflict between Passamaquoddy and the State of 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.
MITSC's January 23, 2014 letter to the Marine Resources Committee regarding LD 1625, An Act To Clarify the Law Concerning Maine's Elver Fishing License.
The MITSC expresses multiple concerns about the Elver Project.
MITSC responded to a 7/17 letter from UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya seeking supporting information for a 5/16/12 letter. The MITSC submission focuses on the evidence of structural oppression of the Wabanaki Tribes within the State of Maine due to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and Maine Implementing Act.
The testimony of MITSC Executive Director John Dieffenbacher-Krall before the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee on May 9, 2013 in support of LD 1399 An Act To Provide for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Certain Rights Regarding Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Management.
The testimony of MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey on LD 72 An Act To Open the St. Croix River to River Herring given before the Marine Resources Committee March 25, 2013.
The testimony of MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey delivered before the Judiciary Committee on March 5, 2013 in support of LD 64 An Act To Place Land in Centerville in Trust for the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
The testimony of MITSC Executive Director John Dieffenbacher-Krall before the Judiciary Committee delivered March 5, 2013 in support of LD 394 An Act To Add Members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs to the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission and Add Corresponding Members for the State.
The testimony of MITSC Executive Director John Dieffenbacher-Krall given on March 4, 2013 in support of LD 140 An Act To Create a Permanent Wabanaki Law Enforcement Seat on the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.
The testimony delivered by MITSC Executive Director John Dieffenbacher-Krall to the Judiciary Committee on February 19, 2013 in support of LD 45, An Act To Include a Representative of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs in the House of Representatives.
The PowerPoint presentation of MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey to the Judiciary Committee presented February 14, 2013.
The policy position statement adopted by MITSC at its October 17, 2012 meeting concerning the restoration of river herring in the St. Croix Watershed.
The PowerPoint presentation given by MITSC Executive Director John Dieffenbacher-Krall to the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association June 4, 2012.
The Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission filed a letter with UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya in response to his general request for information as part of his official visit to the US in 2012.
MITSC PowerPoint presentation to the Judiciary Committee given April 26, 2011.
The MITSC testimony given 4/26/2011 to the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary.
The PowerPoint presentation Jamie Bissonette Lewey presented to the Judiciary Committee on February 10, 2011.
Jamie Bissonette Lewey, Chair of MITSC, wrote to Thomas Birmingham, Chair, RSU 12, asking the School Board to stop using the mascot redskins at Wiscasset HS.
MITSC Chair Paul Bisulca informed Col. Philip Feir, Co-Chair, International Joint Commission St. Croix River Watershed Board, of the Commission's fishery responsibilities in the St. Croix Watershed.
Paul Bisulca, MITSC Chairman, Paul Thibeault, Pine Tree Legal Assistance Attorney, and MITSC Executive Director John Dieffenbacher-Krall address the Maine Legislature in the Senate Chambers about the state of Wabanaki-Maine relations.
This report represents the final product of the Tribal-State Work Group created by Resolve 2007, Chapter 142, 123rd Maine Legislature, Resolve, To Continue the Tribal-State Work Group
MITSC Chairman Paul Bisulca, Pine Tree Legal Assistance Attorney, and John Dieffenbacher-Krall, MITSC Executive Director, address legislators and staff gathered in the Maine House of Representatives.
Governor Baldacci’s Executive Order 19 FY 06/07 directs the Tribal-State Work Group to “study differences in the interpretation and understanding of the Settlement Acts.” It tasks the Work Group with developing “recommendations for how the 123rd Legislature might reconcile the issues in a manner that benefits both the Tribes and the State.” The 13 members of the Tribal-State Work Group to Study Issues Associated with the Maine Implementing Act unanimously recommend continuation of the group. Accomplishments of the Tribal-State Work Group include acting as a catalyst for including in-house and external briefing sessions on the Wabanaki, the Maine Implementing Act, and tribal-state relations in the official legislative orientation for the 123rd Maine Legislature, forging a consensus to recommend including seats for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians on the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, and drafting legislation to add the Maliseets to MITSC (see appendix seven).
A review, pursuant to a Legislative Resolve, of how the civil laws of Maine affect the ability of Indian Tribes to regulate their members, lands, schools, cultural institutions, and communities in ways that honor tribal traditions.
Pursuant to Resolves 1997, Chapter 45, the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission (MITSC)is authorized and directed to undertake a systematic review of the civil laws of the State of Maine over a period of four years. The purpose of the review is to determine the manner and extent to which these laws, as enforced, constrict or impinge upon the best interests of children with respect to the: - Traditional culture and way of life as practiced in tribal communities; - Ability of the Tribes to regulate their members, lands, schools, and other cultural institutions and communities in a manner that honors tribal traditions; and - Respect and dignity appropriately given to all individual citizems in the State and members of the Tribes.
At Loggerheads - The State of Maine and the Wabanaki is the final report of the Task Force on Tribal-State Relations. The Task Force on Tribal-State Relations was created by the 117th Maine Legislature. It worked from June 1996 through early January 1997 to explore ways of improving the tribal-state relationship and the effectiveness of MITSC.
Created as part of the settlement, the Commission is required to review its effectiveness and the relationship between the State and the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Indian Nation. The Commission hopes that this report will promote greater understanding of the issues and deeply held beliefs that shape today's debates about tribal-state relations.
The MITSC analysis of LD 72 An Act To Open the St. Croix River to River Herring, LD 584 An Act To Provide for Passage of River Herring on the St. Croix River in Accordance with an Adaptive Management Plan, and LD 748 An Act Regarding the Passage of River Herring on the St. Croix River.
The MITSC testimony presented concerning LDs 270, 427, and 1456 before the IF&W Committee.
The MITSC testimony presented to the Inland Fisheries and Wilflife Committee on LD 1456 An Act Regarding the Right of Native Americans to be Issued Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Licenses.
MITSC written testimony provided to the Judiciary Committee on LD 651 An Act to Improve Tribal-State Relations.
The testimony of MITSC Chair Jamie Bissonette Lewey in support of the nomination of Penobscot Nation citizen Bonnie Newsom for a seat on the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
MITSC testimony on a portion of LD 445, An Act To Improve Tribal-State Relations, pertaining to the section changing certain Penobscot Nation land located in Argyle from trust to reservation status.
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