Tag: legislature

RadioActive 6/4/15

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Rally for Tribal Sovereignty and Unity; Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Tribes Withdraw Reps. from State Legislature

a) Today we hear from Wabanaki Tribal members at the Rally for Tribal Sovereignty and Unity in Augusta last week, May 26th. On that day, the Penobscot and Passamquoddy Tribes withdrew their representatives from the Maine legislature in the wake of numerous recent state actions to block or diminish tribal efforts to exercise sovereignty.
b) These issues include fishing rights, the right of Maine tribes to gain the protections under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) afforded all other tribes in the country, and the state’s attempt to re-define Penobscot Nation territory to exclude the Penobscot River. In April, Governor LePage issued an executive order to rescind cooperation with the Tribes and, at the end of May, announced he would veto a number of bills tribal representatives sponsored this session.
c) Repeatedly, Maine State government has used the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act as a reason to exempt Wabanaki Tribes from federal protections and to assert power over the Tribes. The Wabanaki Tribes have repeatedly asserted a different interpretation of the Settlement Act, and the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission, set up by the Act to advise, recommend and seek amendment to a law negotiators agreed needed more clarity, has been ignored repeatedly by the state. The Wabankai Tribes are now calling on Congress to review the Settlement Act and the Maine’s interpretation and implementation of it.

Guests:
Matt Dana, former Passamquoddy representative to Maine legislature
Chief Kirk Francis, Penobscot Nation
Chief Billy Nicolas, Passamquoddy, Indian Township
Vice- Chief Vera Francis, Passamquoddy, Sipayik/Pleasant Point
Chief Fred Moore, Passamquoddy,Sipayik/Pleasant Point
Tribal members: Serge, Passamquoddy/Indian Township; Tara, Micmac; Tim Shay, Penobscot; Charlene, Micmac; Adrian, Micmac, Glen, Micmac.
Newell Lewey, Passamquoddy tribal council member, Sipayik/Pleasant Point
Sherri Mitchell, Penobscot Nation, indigenous rights attorney
John Banks, Penobscot Nation; Maine Indian Tribal State Commission

WERU News Report 5/27/15

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer: John Greenman

Mining in Maine, what could possibly go wrong? Ask the residents of Blue Hill peninsula and they’ll tell you about the toxic legacy of the Callahan and Black Hawk/KerrAmerican mines. The representatives of the mining companies — who stand to make millions– say new technologies will prevent future disasters– but what are the guarantees? And is it worth the risk?

Today we talk with Mainers who have been working to prevent more mining disasters as the state legislature considers weakening existing mining regulations, and we open the phone lines for your calls.

Sidney Mitchell is a founding member of Friends Of The Piscataquis Valley, a group that formed in January of 2012. She says that as an active concerned citizen who opposes the Cianbro East-West Corridor, she became acutely aware of the threat posed by weaker mining regulations particularly after reading the OpEd in the BDN by Peter Vigue of Cianbro called ‘Embrace Change’ that promoted the Irving Gold Mine project in Aroostook. This lead her to begin connecting the dots between the East-West Corridor and other related corporate interests, including mining. Since that time she has twice traveled to El Salvador to learn how they are dealing with the mining issue there. And back here in Maine she has been following the issue closely, attending public hearings, submitting testimony and writing letters to the editor warning of the dangers of metallic mining.
Hendrik Gideonse lives in Brooklin, Maine not far from the legacy of at least 2 environmental disasters caused by mining. He’s a former selectman, retired educator and policy analyst and has been following the mining regulations rewrite since it started back in 2012. Like Sidney Mitchell, Hendrik Gideonse has devoted himself to attending public hearings & work sessions, offering testimony and writing letters to the editor and opeds, including one published 3 days ago in the BDN.