Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Clarissa Sabattis, chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseets, foreground, and other leaders of Maine's tribes are welcomed by lawmakers into the House chamber, , March 16, 2023. (Photo: Robert F. Bukaty / AP)
UGUSTA, Maine - A sweeping overhaul of the state-tribal relationship is likely to be pushed into 2024 due to a need to lock down Republican support and little time to do so.
This story was originally published in the Bangor Daily News.
Tribes have made considerable progress in the Democratic-controlled State House over the past year, but action has been delayed on the wider effort in large part due to Gov. Janet Mills' opposition to rewriting the landmark 1980 settlement that settled a massive tribal land claim.
It granted tribes tens of millions of dollars in exchange for being regulated by the state like cities and towns. That has left the Maine tribes without the wide power that others across the country have to manage gaming, natural resources and other policy areas on their land.
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