“The State of the
Tribes Address”
Honorable Rick Doyle, Governor, Passamaquoddy
Tribe at Pleasant Point
Good Morning, I bring greetings
from Sipayik.
I had two choices this morning, my war club or
my peace pipe, but I am here to make peace.
Thank you for inviting me here today. My name
is Rick Doyle, my traditional title is Sakom,
but I am now called Governor of the Passamaquoddy
Tribe at Pleasant Point. The Passamaquoddy are
proud members of the Wabanaki people. I am honored
to be the guest of the Maine Legislature. This
is a historic occasion and a historic opportunity
for the Passamaquoddy people and the people of
Maine. My hope is that this is the beginning of
a new era of cooperation, trust, and partnership
as we move forward and look to the future. While
our past has been colored by distrust, we are
willing to walk forward, together in friendship
to help raise the quality of life of my people
and all the people of Maine. My people have lived
in Maine and parts of Canada for more than 500
generations. We were once the most predominant
people in this area living in harmony with Great
Mother, receiving her bounty and protecting the
watershed. We lived off the mountains, the water,
the woods, and the land. We were fishermen in
the summer and hunters in the winter. Great Mother
provided for us and we were there to nurture,
protect, and preserve her bounty .We have a spiritual
connection to the earth and have always viewed
ourselves as caretakers of the land, river, and
Great Mother.
We believe that everything in
nature is interconnected, the water, the land,
the people, the plants, and the animals. When
we pick sweet grass, we do so blade by blade to
honor the spirit of each blade. We then clean
the sweet grass in the field so that the seeds
may fall back into the field, where nature intended
them to fall so that the field can continue.
It has always been so with our
people. We harvest only what we need from the
land. We view each animal and plant separately
based on its environment and connection to nature
and US. In turn, we look to the land and Great
Mother for signs of danger and injury and work
to protect her. In that way, all of creation can
replenish itself.
From the beginning of European
settlement, we held out the hand of friendship,
first with the French, then the English, and finally
with the American colonists. We assisted French
explorers who sought our knowledge of the area
as well as our help with their new settlements.
When the English arrived, we signed treaties with
the understanding that we would share the land
with them. We shared the land and Great Mother’s
bounty with the new colonists. When the new colonists
arrived, we were there when they needed us.
In the hopes of protecting some
of our land base, we signed a treaty with the
Commonwealth and later with the State of Maine.
The U.S. Congress never ratified these treaties.
These treaties gave us title to several islands,
a 23,000-acre township, and several smaller tracts
of land, including 10 acres at Pleasant Point,
which through our efforts was later increased.
Despite the lack of federal protections, the tribe
followed the tenets of this treaty even after
the State of Maine was created in 1820.
Three years after the State of
Maine was made a state, our people were given
non-voting representation in the Maine Legislature.
Through these representatives we were able to
secure the establishment of the Passamaquoddy
Trust Fund to finance emergency aid for the needy.
The fund was financed from the proceeds of timber
sales, grass, and power rights on our land. Such
aid was desperately needed to help our people
who were in dire straits. Despite being on the
rail lines, our people were not allowed to take
advantage of the situation and remained reliant
on hunting, fishing, trapping, basket making,
and other traditional arts. Interest from this
fund was paid to the Indian Agents who were supposed
to be looking out for our welfare. Instead, we
were given the leftovers, thus beginning a long
cycle of welfare dependency. Where was the State
of Maine when we needed your help and protection?
Again, we had been taken advantage of by those
we trusted.
Later, in the 1960s, we discovered
that part of our land was sold or leased without
federal consent. This discovery set off a legal
battle that resulted in federal recognition for
the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot peoples and a
claim by the tribes to nearly two-thirds of the
State of Maine. Despite legal victory after legal
victory, we sought compromise with the state.
The future of Maine as a whole was at stake. Government
functions, businesses, and people’s lives
were held in the balance as long as this court
case was being pursued. The result of that compromise
was the Maine Indian Settlement Act, under which
we operate now.
Unfortunately, the Settlement
Act has not achieved its goal. It is a failed
experiment in my mind. We seek only to maintain
and exercise our sovereignty to protect our way
of life. The settlement gave us more authority
over our internal matters and allowed us to keep
our federal recognition. However, it also left
open questions over jurisdiction. As called for
in the Settlement Act, I would urge the Maine
Tribal State Commission to review the Settlement
Act and to suggest changes to help bring it into
a new era and clarify the questions of jurisdiction
that were left open.
These questions have led us to
our current situation. We want to ensure that
we have clean water. Plain and simple. The current
court cases and arguments made by the paper companies
are not about documents to us. It is about our
right to clean water. It is about the heath and
safety of our people.
I am fighting for my people’s
right to continue our traditions and way of life
without fear of poisons or toxins in our water.
We want to continue to be able to fish, swim,
canoe, sustain ourselves, and harvest our medicines.
In sum, we ask that we be allowed to continue
to practice our traditions and culture as we have
for more than 500 generations. Polluters have
been discharging toxins into the river that make
the fish unsafe to eat, the water unsafe to swim
in, and that threaten the very vitality of the
river itself. It is my duty not only to my people,
but also to Mother Earth to protect the river
and the water. That is why we have fought so hard
and vigorously on the issue of water quality.
If I must be imprisoned to protect the river,
than so be it. This is worth fighting for. Money
and power are fleeting. Nature is forever. My
people are forever. We will not back down. We
will continue to fight for our right to clean
water, no matter how long, and no matter what
the cost.
We are encouraged by the Governor’s
offer of negotiations to find a way to solve this
matter outside of court. It has always been my
hope that we could settle the problems between
the Passamaquoddy, the State, and the other parties
involved through negotiation. However, we must
make it clear that our main goal is the preservation
of the bays, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds
in order to protect the health and safety of our
people. We hope that these negotiations will open
a new chapter in our relationship with the State
of Maine: Despite the problems of the past, we
seek cooperation and consensus. We see progress
and a growing understanding of our concerns on
this issue and others. Together, we can help to
protect our State’s natural resources and
the lifeblood of our culture: the river and its
watershed. Together, we can begin to build the
foundations for a new relationship between the
Passamaquoddy and the people of Maine.
From this debate, I see many
opportunities for my people and the people of
Maine. Our needs are many. Since the time the
first Europeans came to our lands, we have become
ever more dependent and less self- sufficient.
What started as a desire for guns, powder, and
iron has developed into the creation of a welfare
state on tribal lands. We need to break this
vicious cycle and develop new opportunities
for Indian people here in the State. Ways that
will help my people beat back disease, poor
health, poverty and substance abuse. The list
of social ills goes on and on.
In sum, we seek hope for a
better and healthier tomorrow. Hope that there
will be new jobs. Hope that our waters will
be clean and healthy. Hope that our children
can grow up free from abuse and the chains of
dependency.
The new relationship may also
lead to the development of other tribal resources.
We are eager to work with our neighbors in Washington
County to help spur economic development in
the region. Whatever the relationship grows
into, statewide or locally, it needs to help
me and my people to break the cycle of dependency.
We want to become self-sufficient. I believe
that was part of the purpose behind the Settlement
Act, to give tribes the means and self-determination
to help ourselves.
Throughout history, the Passamaquoddy
have been there when the people and the United
States needed us. Our people fought in many
wars for the United States to protect our country,
our land, and our way of life. From the Revolutionary
War to the present, my people have fought valiantly
to protect our nation. This despite the fact
we were not granted the right to vote in Maine
until 1954. This is the first time in 182 years
that tribal leaders have addressed the Maine
Legislature. We have always taken great pride
in fighting for our nation to preserve its liberty.
My uncle, who recently passed to the next world,
was a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
I know personally the type of sacrifice that
he and others like him from my tribe made to
preserve this country of ours.
Even in today’s conflicts,
our presence is noticed. The U.S. Marines in Afghanistan,
through a friend of the Tribes, have requested
a Passamaquoddy flag to be flown by one of its
pilots during a bombing mission against the Taliban
and al Qaeda. Our tribe has a long history of
fighting to protect this nation and its liberty.
We are proud to provide this symbol to our fighting
forces overseas and are always prepared to provide
whatever assistance is necessary to protect this
great nation of ours against all attacks.
We look forward to this opportunity
for a new relationship with great expectations.
We enter these negotiations with Governor King
and the paper companies with the hope that our
waters will be protected. We do this despite
the challenges of the past. Whenever we were
asked, we came willingly to the aid of the State.
We ask for your assistance now. Help us to protect
our waters. Help us to grow economically. Help
us to protect our traditions and culture. And,
most importantly, let’s help each other
to become better neighbors and partners.
—
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