The Wabanaki Alliance has elected new officers and board members and appointed a new associate director.
“The Wabanaki Alliance is proud of the support and accomplishments we have garnered since 2020,” said Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Ambassador, the newly elected President of the Wabanaki Alliance. “With the 132nd Maine Legislature now in session, we will continue to educate and advocate for sovereignty and work in a bipartisan manner to advance other tribal priorities including laws pertaining to commercial fishing, tribal utilities, and eminent domain.”
Also elected were Vice President Donna Loring, Elder, Penobscot Nation; Secretary Aaron Dana, Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative in the Maine House of Representatives; Treasurer Rena Newell, Citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik; and Board Member Richard Silliboy, Vice Chief of the Mi’kmaq Nation.
“This is an experienced and dedicated Board of Directors,” Crofton-Macdonald added. “We are excited to grow the organization to the next level.”
The board also appointed Monica Castellanos as the new associate director for the Alliance. A longtime supporter of tribal sovereignty, Castellanos managed a 2018 statewide gubernatorial campaign prominently featuring support for tribal sovereignty and other Wabanaki priorities and has been a supporter of Wabanaki Alliance in both a personal capacity and as a small business member of the Wabanaki Alliance Coalition.
“I am energized to work with Maulian, the Board and others to advance the work of the Wabanaki Alliance on behalf of all the citizens of the Wabanaki Nations in Maine,” Castellanos said.
The Wabanaki Alliance formed in 2020 by the four tribes in Maine (Mi’kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseets, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation) to educate people of Maine and advocate for recognition of the inherent sovereignty of the Wabanaki Nations.
