PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 7, 2023
A bill requiring the state to include its original treaty obligations to Indigenous tribes in the printed Maine Constitution is highlighting a chasm between the governor and the tribes and lawmakers in her own party. Supporters of restoring the printed language to the constitution argued that the proposal is a “powerful truth-seeking measure.” The secretary of state and attorney general argued that it’s important to make the state’s constitution transparent. However, Jerry Reid, the governor’s chief legal counsel, said state-tribal relations are now defined by the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980. That agreement replaced those treaties and settled tribal land claims to two-thirds of the state by setting aside $81.5 million to benefit the tribes and allowing the tribal nations to be like municipalities. The unpublished articles of the constitution are available online and from the Maine State Library and legislative law library.