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SPEECH BY LEWIS MITCHELL BEFORE THE 63RD
MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE, 1887
Lewis Mitchell, Representative
of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indians
I was authorized by the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indians
to come here before you for the purpose of making known
to you what the Passamaquoddy Indians have done for
the American people, and how we have been used by the
American people and how we used them. In
1775 or 1776, in the struggle between Great Britain
and America, your people came to us for assistance.
You authorized Col. John Allan to speak to us and you
said, “He is our mouth, believe what he says to
you.” After many kind words and promises, Francis
Joseph, who was the chief of the tribe at that time,
accepted his offer. He promised to go and help his people
gain their independence. Immediately he sent his captains
to different parts of his country to notify his people
to prepare for immediate war. In
a few days Francis Joseph gathered an army of six hundred
men. At that time, and
many years before that, the Passamaquoddy Tribe was
the headquarters of the Abnaki Nation.
Passamaquoddy Tribe can show you by a letter from Col.
John Allan when he authorized the Passamaquoddy Indians
to guard the coast from Machias to Passamaquoddy, and
authorized them to seize the enemy’s vessels.
And according to his orders we can show you by the affidavit,
Capt. Sopiel Socktoma, with
fifty others of his tribe, captured an armed schooner
in Passamaquoddy Bay, and they ran her to Machias and
gave her up to Col. John Allan.
We know the Indians who served in that war are passed
out of existence, but the Passamaquoddy Tribe helped
the Americans in that war, and the tribe is still in
existence. Now we bountily ask your attention to help
us by letting the Legislature examine the papers and
refer them to Congress, if they see fit.
In the treaties of 1725, 1794,
and Governor Dummer’s treaty of 1727, and in the
laws of Massachusetts and Maine at their separation,
we were guaranteed the right to hunt and fish forever.
In the year 1854 or 1857 some
dishonest person or persons presented a petition to
the Maine Legislature, asking the State to sell the
Indians’ land –
Indians did not need it – so the Legislature passed
a resolve, that a certain piece of land, situated in
the Town of Perry, owned by the Indians, would be sold
by public auction, on such day, at Perry (they must
have arranged everything so they wouldn’t bid
against each other) and that
land was sold for the small sum of $500.00. The Indians
opposed the sale of it. Now their firewood costs the
Indians of Pleasant Point $1,500.00 a year.
If that land had not been sold, the Indians would not
suffer for want of firewood. Thousands of cords of cordwood
have been cut, and wood is on it yet. The land cleared
by the Indians was also sold. Now we claim again that
this is not right. An Indian agent himself bought this
land afterward and again when we lost the claim on the
Islands the case Granger vs. Indians, we not only lost
the claim, but $2,500.00 out of the Indians in favor
of Mr. Granger.
Just consider, today, how many
rich men there are in Calais, in St. Stephen, Milltown,
Machias, East Machias, Columbia, Cherryfield, and other
lumbering towns. We see
a good many of them worth thousands and even millions
of dollars. We ask ourselves, how
do they make most of their money? Answer is, they make
it on lumber or timber once owned by the Passamaquoddy
Indians.
How many of their privileges
have been broken? How many of their lands have been
taken from them by authority of the State? Now,
we say to ourselves, these Indians ought to have everything
they ask for. They deserve assistance. We are sent here
to help the poor and defend their rights.
Now, this plainly shows us how
much worse a people of five hundred and thirty souls
are, stripped of their whole country, their privileges
on which they depend for their living; all the land
they claim to own now being only ten acres.
If one or two men in this body were Indians, they would
fight like braves for their rights.
Now look at yourselves and see
whether I am right or wrong.
If you find any insulting language in my speech, I ask
your pardon. I don’t mean to insult anybody, but
simply tell you of our wrong.
(excerpted)
— Go
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