MAINE MORNING STAR • November 24, 2025
As the movement to return more sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations is poised to continue in the upcoming legislative session, tribal leaders say recent events underscored the benefits that even piecemeal wins have delivered for the tribes. The Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and Mi’kmaq Nation — collectively known as the Wabanaki Nations — are treated differently than other federally recognized tribes, more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations because of a 1980 land settlement agreement. Wabanaki leaders have said that their Tribes signed the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act to get fair compensation for stolen lands, not to give up sovereignty. Two bills that the Legislature will contemplate next year are nearly identical to past proposals that were blocked either by the governor or through the Legislature’s opaque funding process.