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In 1941 Passamaquoddy and Penobscot
tribal representatives are ousted from the Hall of
the State House of Representatives. In 1975 seating
and speaking privileges are restored. What led to
the ousting? Tension and anti-Indian feelings in the
State House concerning the roles and rights of the
Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribal representatives
had been brewing for the years leading up to this
event.
In 1939, a representative from Farmington motioned
for a pay increase for tribal representatives from
$200 a year to $600 a year, or, the same pay as other
representatives. His motion was rejected 92 to 29.
In 1941, a bill titled “An Act Permitting Indians
to Vote in State Elections” was presented before
the Legislature—although all Native people had
been made citizens of the United States in 1924 by
an act of Congress, the state of Maine had not granted
Wabanaki people the right to vote in state or federal
elections. After the refusal of the legislature to
vote on the bill, it was withdrawn from consideration.
As the anti-Indian feelings worsened throughout 1941,
the Legislature voted to kick the Passamaquoddy and
Penobscot representatives out of their seats in the
house. Even though the Indian representatives could
no longer address the legislature nor receive payment
to attend, they still came to the sessions in Augusta,
sometimes staying in a nearby park.
In 1975, after a lengthy debate filled with much of
the same anti-Indian feelings as before, the Legislature
voted 107 to 40 to reinstate the Passamaquoddy and
Penobscot tribal representatives’ seats and
speaking privileges. Tribal representatives can serve
on committees, sponsor bills and address the legislature,
but cannot vote.
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