BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 2, 2022
Former Gov. Paul LePage called a 1980 settlement at the heart of negotiations over tribal rights “a done deal.” LePage cast doubt on the need of reopening negotiations around the settlement, which resolved a long-running tribal lawsuit that called into question the ownership of two-thirds of modern-day Maine. LePage had a fraught relationship with tribes during his tenure, including in 2015, when he rescinded an executive order promising collaboration in a move that tribal members saw as retaliation for a dispute over water-quality standards.