Wabanaki Voices in the Bangor Daily News
In February 2024, the Bangor Daily News launched “Wabanaki Voices,” a monthly column in the newspapers’ opinion section that shares perspectives from Wabanaki citizens. The Wabanaki Alliance shares these columns on this page each month. Check back regularly for new installments.
Wabanaki people have a right to be safe and heard
The December Wabanaki Voices column highlights the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and people and was written by Maulian Dana, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation and executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance.
The enduring value of freedom
The November Wabanaki Voices column highlights the story of Wabanaki citizen and World War II veteran Charles Shay and was written by Donna Loring, a Penobscot Nation Tribal Elder, Vietnam Veteran, and Wabanaki Alliance Board Member.
Legislative scorecard is building sovereignty through education and awareness
The Alliance published two Wabanaki Voices columns in October. This second one highlights the 131st Maine Legislature Scorecard and was written by Maliseet Ambassador Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald, Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative Aaron Dana, Penobscot Nation Elder Donna Loring, and Mi’kmaq Nation Vice Chief Richard Silliboy.
Indigenous Peoples Day in Maine, 5 years later
The Alliance published two Wabanaki Voices columns in October. This first one offers a look back on the five years since the law officially designating Indigenous Peoples Day was passed. It was written by Maulian Bryant, former Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador and incoming Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance.
‘The Creator’s Game’ has been changing lives for hundreds of years
This month’s Wabanaki Voices column is about lacrosse, known in indigenous communities as “the Creator’s Game.” It was written by Corey Hinton, a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe (Sipayik) and former member of the Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Team.
Honor the Watertown Treaty of 1776 by mending American-Indigenous relationship
This month’s Wabanaki Voices column is about the history of the Watertown Treaty of 1776, told from the Wabanaki perspective. It was written by Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald, the tribal ambassador for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and a co-commissioner on the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission.
The Time-Honored Valor and Sacrifice of Wabanaki Veterans
This month’s Wabanaki Voices column focuses on the Wabanaki Confederacy’s long and storied history of military service. It was written by Donna Loring, who served in the Women’s Army Corp from 1967-1968 and former Maine House representative for the Penobscot Nation, and Donald Soctomah, who represented the Passamaquoddy Tribe in the Legislature from 2006-2010, serves as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and founded the Passamaquoddy Cultural Heritage Museum.
For Wabanaki Nations, legislative session brought progress and disappointments
This month’s Wabanaki Voices column discusses progress and disappointments in the most recent legislative session. It was written by Rep. Aaron M. Dana, the Passamaquoddy tribal representative to the Maine House of Representatives and a member of the Wabanaki Alliance board of directors.
Wabanaki stewardship of the land benefits all
This month’s Wabanaki Voices column focuses on recent collaborations between conservation groups and Indigenous peoples across the world, including here in the place we now call Maine. It was written by Dr. Darren Ranco, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, chair of Native American Programs and coordinator of Native American Research at the University of Maine, and a member of the Planning Team for the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship.
Amended LD 2007 would bolster Wabanaki Nations’ power to protect our citizens
This month’s Wabanaki Voices column in the Bangor Daily News focuses on how the amended version of LD 2007 would establish stronger tribal courts. Authors include Maulian Bryant, Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador and President of the Wabanaki Alliance; Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald, Houlton Band of Maliseets Tribal Ambassador; Aaron Dana, Passamaquoddy Nation Tribal Representative; Rena Newell, Sipayik citizen; and Richard Silliboy, Vice Chief of the Mi’kmaq Nation.