LD 2007 is an amended bill that would modernize several important provisions of the 1980 Maine Implementing Act and is based on five consensus recommendations pertaining to criminal jurisdiction from the bipartisan Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act.
Conversations with legislators, friends, family, and neighbors offer an important opportunity to share why LD 2007 is needed and how it will benefit the Wabanaki Nations and all of Maine. We’ve compiled a list of compelling reasons to support this legislation that you can use in discussions, letters to the editor, and emails to state officials and legislators. Read more about the bill in our Bill Tracker. Find tips and newspaper addresses in our LTE Guide. Find your legislators here.
Good-faith negotiations result in common ground
Although scaled back from the initial concept draft version and the version of the bill presented at the public hearing on February 26, this revised bill reflects the engagement of leaders of the Wabanaki Nations with the attorney general’s office, the governor’s office, the Judiciary Committee, bill sponsor House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, and its bipartisan cosponsors to find common ground on the important issue of criminal jurisdiction. If approved, it adopts most of federal Indian law related to the jurisdiction of tribal courts, including the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the tribal provisions of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022. The Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation can immediately implement the expanded powers for their respective courts and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and Mi’kmaq Nation have the authority to do so upon creation of their tribal courts. LD 2007 also recognizes the exclusive authority of the Penobscot Nation to regulate drinking water similarly to the authority gained by the Passamaquoddy Tribe in legislation passed in 2022.
A step forward… but more work remains
“Though only a small step, it is forward,” says Penobscot Nation Ambassador Maulian Bryant, who is also the president of the Wabanaki Alliance, a group representing all four tribes. “We will continue to work with the administration and the Legislature to place the tribes on the same footing as the other 570 recognized tribes across the country.” Bipartisan recommendations in the 2020 report of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act still to be adopted fall under the broad categories of civil jurisdiction, fish and game, land use, education, health care and social services and gaming.
Restores powers taken by the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Implementing Act
This amended bill modernizes several important provisions of the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Implementing Act and is based on five consensus recommendations (Nos. 2-6) pertaining to criminal jurisdiction from the bipartisan Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act. It restores rights the Wabanaki Nations should have as federally recognized tribes, if not for these rights being stripped by the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Implementing Act. It will bolster the tribal courts by recognizing the exclusive jurisdiction of Wabanaki courts for misdemeanor and some felony crimes that happen on tribal lands and that only involve members of the tribal community. Tribal and state courts would have concurrent jurisdiction over crimes within those classifications that occur on tribal lands but involve non-tribal members.
Important tool for fighting tribal drug epidemic
This bill offers a needed tool to fight the tribal drug epidemic. Tribal leaders point to the disproportionate number of deaths due to overdoses within their communities as a specific reason why the Wabanaki Nations need meaningful criminal jurisdiction to combat this drug epidemic at the local level. “We need the ability to combat this drug epidemic at the local level,” said Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis in a Quoddy Tides article on the revised bill. “Every household in our community has been impacted by this epidemic … and our communities are specifically being targeted by drug cartels and dealers.”
Strong tribal courts are a key to strong self-governance
The 2022 report by the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development states that criminal jurisdiction is an important foundational aspect of self-governance for tribal nations, adding that strong tribal courts are one of the best indicators of tribal governments being able to fully meet the needs of its citizens. (See last paragraph on Page 33). Based on the experience of other tribes across the nation, the concurrent criminal jurisdiction provisions of this bill for certain types of crimes should lead to improved communication and cooperation for both the tribes and state — increasing the likelihood that the justice system will produce beneficial outcomes for Wabanaki communities and their neighbors.
Recognizes tribal authority over regulating drinking water
The measure would also allow the Penobscot Nation to regulate drinking water on Penobscot tribal lands, which is consistent with the change in MICSA granted to the Passamaquoddy Tribe under LD 906, which was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills in June 2022. Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right and critical to public health. This measure ensures that the Penobscot Nation would not face unnecessary jurisdictional or bureaucratic obstacles if and when it might seek to improve drinking water for its citizens.
