Tag: Indigenous People’s Day

Maine Currents 8/29/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Bangor City Council votes to recognize Indigenous People’s Day and approves a proposal “Urging the United States Congress to enact a Revenue Neutral Carbon Tax and Dividend”

We take you to last night’s meeting of the Bangor City Council to listen in on the testimony from tribal council member Maulian Dana Smith, Chief Kirk Francis and others, and the council’s discussion and vote on these two issues. On today’s program you’ll also hear Maulian Dana Smith’s testimony in support of Indigenous People’s Day at Bangor’s Government Operations Committee Meeting earlier in the month, and some background on the Carbon Dividend issue from a 2015 edition of this program.

Special thanks to the folks at www.townhallstreams.com Some of the audio in today’s program was recorded by them and used with their permission.


Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

Maine Currents 3/22/17

What’s Been Happening in Augusta While Attention Has Been on DC?

We listen in on some of the public hearings held by the state legislature this week.

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: Monday the Committee on Taxation considered several bills that would overturn the results of Question 2 on Maine’s ballot last November, which was approved by voters. By passing Question 2, voters approved a 3 percent surcharge on household income over $200,000 a year, with the revenue earmarked to fund public education.

Segment 2: LD 882, “An Act Prohibiting Public Entities from Contracting with, and Investing in, Companies That Boycott the State of Israel”. The bill targets the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement that successfully applied financial pressure to help end apartheid in South Africa –and has in recent years been focused on the government of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. FMI: legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280063780

Segment 3: LD 914, “An Act To Establish Indigenous People’s Day”- a bill that would replace Columbus Day with an Indigenous People’s holiday statewide
FMI: legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills_128th/billtexts/HP064201.asp

For information about the legislature, including contact info: legislature.maine.gov/

Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

WERU News Report 10/15/14

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: A rally in Skowhegan Monday kicked off efforts here in Maine to follow the lead of cities like Seattle and Minneapolis, and replace “Columbus Day” with a holiday called “Indigenous People’s Day”. Former Penobscot Chief Barry Dana organized the event:

Segment 2: Students in Bangor are raising money to help provide access to clean drinking water in the West African country of Burkina Faso. We spoke with 2 of the organizers of this year’s annual
benefit race, which will be taking place on the Bangor waterfront this weekend:

Segment 3: A few other events happening this weekend: Saturday evening at 7 at the UU Church in Bangor, Sister Cities coordinator Cori Ring-Martinez, and Edith Portillo of the Association for the Development of El Salvador will be speaking on the topic of “Crossing Borders: Organizing in El Salvador and the U.S.: How US policy created the immigration humanitarian crisis, how the Salvadoran government and social movements are responding, and what international solidarity can do to help”. Also on Saturday, from 2-8pm, there will be a concert and fundraiser to benefit the Penobscot Nation’s defense of their ancestral River. There will be an opportunity to learn more about the Penobscot’s battle with the State of Maine in Penobscot Nation v. Mills, and hear about threats to the watershed. That will be held at the Sockalexis Arena on Indian Island. More information is available at the Justice for the River! facebook page.

Segment 4: While all these events are happening, there is also a group of people walking across the state to draw attention to what they say is Maine’s “growing dependence on military production”. One of the organizers is Bruce Gagnon, of Maine Veterans for Peace and the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space: