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.

From Selma to the Penobscot: A shared vision of justice

The January Wabanaki Voices column discusses the parallels between the work by Wabanaki leaders and citizens to restore tribal sovereignty and the work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. It was written by Donna Loring, a Penobscot Nation Tribal Elder and member of the Wabanaki Alliance Board, and Maine Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross from Portland, the former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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