Tribal News

PENOBSCOT NATION
PROCEDURES DURING SHUT-DOWN

Updated 3/5/2021

Bingo Halls - Nationwide Bingo is North America's largest directory of local bingo halls! Penobscot High Stakes Bingo: 6 River Road Old Town, ME 04468 (800) 255. In the past several years while the tribe has tried to modernize its Penobscot High Stakes Bingo operation, revenues there have taken a plunge from the Hollywood Slots casino in Bangor 10 miles south of the tribe’s Indian Island home in the Penobscot River, Francis said. The state also approved the development of another full blown non Indian.

SPECIAL ELECTION

A Special Election will be held on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 for the one vacant Tribal Council seat. In-person, voting will take place at the Nicholas H. Sapiel Building.

• Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• PPE will be worn by every election worker
• Hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies are available and will be utilized
• Voters will take the pen used while voting
• Social distancing will be monitored with only 2 voters allowed in the polling place at one time
• Voters are required to wear face masks, they will be made available for anyone who does not have one
• Gloves will be made available for voters if they wish to use them

Emergency Rental Assistance

The Penobscot Nation has received Emergency Rental Assistance funds from the Department of Treasury to operate a 12 month rental assistance program for eligible households impacted by Covid-19.

Penobscot Nation Department of Education & Career Services

Virtual College Fair with Husson University

Husson University cordially invites you to Husson's College of Science and Humanities and Health and Pharmacy Showcase night on Tuesday, March 16th at 6 pm. We will discuss how Husson can help you achieve your career goals in the following fields: Scientific Research, Health Sciences (includes pre-med, pre-vet, and pre-dentistry), Psychology, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, and Occupational Therapy. You'll also learn about Husson's Early College Access Program (ECAP) for high school juniors and seniors, which includes tuition-free classes except for any related book costs.

Candi Ewer, Director of Penobscot Nation’s Department of Education and Career Services, will also discuss funding options for private universities such as Husson, while Husson Admissions will provide an overview of merit-based scholarships for graduating high school seniors. Plus, if you attend and would like to provide a mailing address in the link below (optional), we will mail you a Husson SWAG item!!!! There will also be a surprise guest visit at the end for any little ones who might be joining us as well! The registration link is below.

Husson University's College of Science and Humanities and Health and Pharmacy Showcase Registration Link: https://admissions.husson.edu/register/showcase

Once you register, you will receive an email with the link to attend the event on

Tuesday, March 16th at 6 pm .

If you have any questions, please reach out to Candi Ewer at (207) 817-7348, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Carlene Miller at (207) 817-7345, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LOGO DESIGN CONTEST

TRIBAL COURT; The Healing to Wellness Program needs a new logo design!

PENOBSCOT NATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

Is taking bids on the following vehicles:

1999 Ford STD Pickup Truck, with toolbox on both side. Mileage - 47,269 As-is
2004 Chevy KlSOO 4WD Pickup Truck, with toolbox. Mileage - 164,756 As-is
2006 Chevy 3500 1 Ton Dump Truck/Plow 4WD, Boss straight blade. Mileage -98,849 As-is

All interested parties can call Public Works Director, David Pardilla at 207-817-7320 to get the paperwork to submit a bid for the vehicles mentioned above.
Bids will close on March 15, 2021.

HOMEBUYER EDUCATUION

There is still time to register for the Virtual Homebuyer Education course this month! The course will be held from 5:30-8:30pm on March 29^th, 30^th, and 31^st. The flyer is attached if you’d like to share in paper format, or the Facebook event can be found here.

Folks can register by emailing me, or giving me a call at 207-866-2019. Registration fee will be $30 per person or $50 per couple.

Please share with whomever may benefit from the course, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Sayre Savage

207-866-2019

Four Directions Development Corporation

Financial Capabilities Program Manager

COVID-19 UPDATE

The Penobscot Nation Health Department is now extending COVID-19 vaccine availability to any teacher, daycare worker, or other individuals engaged in childhood education in ANY school district or employer.

Any Penobscot Nation employee who has yet to be vaccinated is also eligible to schedule at this time.

Community members categorized as an essential worker as defined by the State of Maine or CDC (see attached) may schedule for their COVID-19 vaccine for the week of Mar. 22 or after.

At this time, the Health Department is on track to complete Phase I by April 9, 2021. We anticipate Phase II completion around Memorial Day, and Phase III (Open vaccination) is projected to begin with a series of large-scale vaccination events in early June.

Please feel free to reach out to the Health Department at (207) 817-7400 with any questions or concerns regarding our current vaccination efforts.

Take care and stay safe!

Penobscot High Stakes Bingo Maine

-Candy

Candy Henderly
Director
Penobscot Nation Health Department
23 Wabanaki Way
Indian Island, ME 04468
Office: (207) 817-7440
Cell: (207) 659-1106
Fax: (207) 817-7459
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NEW Essential Business Operations Definitions April 3, 2020

To support transparency and informed decision-making regarding vaccination, the Penobscot Nation Health Dept. will be releasing information about the new COVID-19 vaccines as it is received. Please feel free to reach out to the Health Department at (207) 817-7400 with any questions or concerns about COVID-19 vaccination or the posted information.

We are also asking community members to complete the following survey regarding COVID-19 vaccination to help inform the process and estimate community needs:

PENOBSCOT NATION

Health and Safety Checkpoint Protocol

Penobscot Nation Penobscot Nation COVID 19

Reopening Plan Tribal Council

TRIBAL STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION

The Penobscot Tribal Administration has been made aware of several cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the state of Maine.

At this time, we have determined that this outbreak presents a clear hazard to the health and well-being of our people.

We, the Penobscot Nation Chief and Tribal Council, the duly elected representatives of our sovereign nation, do hereby declare a Public Health Emergency in our community.

With this proclamation, we activate all previously established emergency management and infectious disease containment plans. All of the resources at our disposal will be made available to minimize the impact of this threat and to restore the operations of our government to normal function as quickly as possible.

We direct our employees, representatives, and volunteers to exercise the utmost diligence in execution of their duties. We call upon all Tribal Citizens to comply with any necessary emergency measures and to cooperate with Public Health Officials in order to safeguard the health of our people.

Our thoughts and well wishes are with all the sick and we hope for their quick recovery. During this difficult time, we must pull together and strive for the safety and well-being of all.

Kirk E. Francis, Chief (and on behalf of the Tribal Council)

Penobscot Indian Nation

03.16.2020

NOTICE FROM USET Leadership:

“In response to COVID-19, both USET and USET SPF are working diligently to do all we can in support of members, our org partners, and Indian country overall. Additionally, we are taking the necessary USET/USET SPF internal org specific steps and actions. As you have likely seen already, the majority of our information and communication is being centralized via this site:

For the last two years, two Indian nations in Maine, the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes, have jointly been petitioning to open a casino in the state of Maine. Though both tribes are federally recognized as sovereign nations, the verdict of the Maine Settlement Act of 1980 awarded the tribes money for land purchase, but prevented these indigenous peoples from function as truly sovereign nations because of the jurisdiction the state has over their land. It is for this reason that the tribes have been forced to enter a legal battle to open a high-stakes casino. By awarding the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes $81.5 million to buy reservation land in the Maine Settlement Act, the state of Maine acknowledged these tribes as nations worthy of a reservation. This recognition is an affirmation of the tribes’ sovereignty, and as sovereign nations, they have the right to institute gambling operations for the benefit of their community.

There is a general assumption across the country that there are no Native Americans on the East Coast. It is assumed that the Indians of New England were long ago wiped out or forced west. For many, they are no more than a romantic ideology. It is this frame of mind that encourages New Englanders’ resistance to acknowledging a continuous presence of Northeastern Indian tribes. After hundreds of years of extermination, eugenics, racism, and forced migration, it is easier to believe that the indigenous people have been killed off and evicted than it is to concede that these people are still here and are still struggling to regain the rights and recognition to which they are entitled. One of the current sovereignty issues in the Northeast is the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes’ efforts to establish a casino as source of tribal revenue. The debate involves Maine residents, state officials, and Native Americans – each faction contains pro and anti-casino opinions. In the press, though, only some of the topics that are part of the issue are being raised. One of the least publicized elements is the tribes’ plans for the use of casino revenues. Looking at the recent debate through local news sources provides the perspective of Maine residents and how they are reacting to this casino proposal. To better understand the issues surrounding these Maine tribes, Connecticut’s tribal history brings into light the difficulties New England tribes have in dealing with state governments and the general non-Indian populace of the Northeast.

An early treaty between the delegates of Saint Johns in Boston in 1760 demonstrates the type of “Agreement” in which the Passamaquoddy Indians have engaged. This treaty sealed the tribe in a promise to obey guidelines lain down by the Europeans. This is a representation of the type of one-sided negotiating that was being held between the Indians and the encroaching Europeans. As a result, when the boundary line separating the US and Canada was established between Maine and New Brunswick, the traditional territory of the Passamaquoddy Indians was cut down the middle. The Indians were left with no recourse for contesting this decision. To this day, the Passamaquoddy tribes are fighting to regain control over these severed lands and access to sacred lands, burial grounds, and relations (Bulkeley “Treaty”).

In 1790, the Non-Intercourse Act was passed making it illegal for Americans to buy land from Natives without an approval from U.S. Congress. This Act was established to help Indigenous people retain rights to the land they held. Since the ratification of the Non-Intercourse Act, there have been countless transferals of land between natives and Americans. There is a common misconception that treaties made in past centuries are no longer valid, when in fact, treaties concluded two hundred years ago are still legally binding. The idea that laws and agreements made years ago between the government and Native Tribes – such as the Passamaquoddy – are obsolete is just one of the concepts that tribal activists are fighting in order to regain their rights. It was the re-discovery of the Non-Intercourse Act that won these Maine tribes money and land, but also put Maine residents on the defensive. The resurgence of the 1790 Act had the potential to nullify thousands of deeds to Maine real-estate. What the tribes’ were fighting for was not to evict Maine residents, though. They were using the Act as leverage to reestablish sovereignty. The Passamaquoddy did not necessarily want freedom to gaming either, as some assume. Though a casino proposal is one of the issues that is currently being debated, other issues include raising standards-of-living for natives, protecting water quality, gaining access to their own sacred land, and establishing and improving schools for native children. Each of these issues requires money to address and solve. One of the main reasons the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes are fighting to build a casino in Maine is to provide funding for those issues and to support and promote their own native sovereignty. Some citizens of Maine who have been protesting the establishment of a casino are not aware of the motivation behind such an endeavor.

In an interview, when asked how she felt about the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes’ request to open a casino in Sanford, Sarah Joycen, a Maine resident, stated, “I live in Sanford – I just bought my first house. I don’t want to raise my kids in that sort of environment.” When asked if she was aware of the tribes’ plans to use a portion of casino profits to fund improvements to Maine’s environmental status and improve water quality Joycen responded, “No, I did not know that.” Residents of Maine and surrounding states have a wealth of information coming to them from sources such as Portland Press Herald, Bangor News, and Foster’s Daily Democrat. All of these sources have consistently covered the current casino debate focusing on the issues of crime rate, employment, property taxes, and Maine’s revenues. Issues that are not covered are those that apply to the benefit of gaming to the surrounding Native Tribes of Maine as well as non-indigenous Maine residents.

Opponents of the Sanford Casino include Maine Governor Baldacci, CasinosNo!, and 66% of Maine voters (Hait). Opposition to the casino proposal was based on issues such as increased crime, prostitution, gambling addiction, and poverty. There is also a myth that is prevalent in the United States that Native Americans are rich, get “free rides,” and have it easy. This idea is mainly proliferated by the publicity that surrounds the most successful high-stakes gambling establishments such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. According to Katherine A. Spilde of the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA, “roughly 190 of the more than 550 federally recognized tribes were running some type of high-stakes gambling operation.” She goes on to say that “the top twenty Indian casinos earn 50 percent of all Indian Gaming revenues” (Spilde, 88). It is a fact that, though some Indigenous people have managed to gain a foothold and be financially successful, the majority of indigenous Americans are not sitting on cash cows. The misconception of American Indians conditions is routed in generalization of Indians as a whole. It is also often overlooked that historically, European settlers and the U.S. Government have caused severe and permanent damage to Native Americans for hundreds of years. The government continues to abuse the power it wields over Indian nations by denying sovereign rights to tribes who wish to be federally recognized, arbitrarily overriding the power granted to federally recognized tribes. It is a relevant argument that “the tribes’ recent gains have not begun to offset their tremendous losses” (Pasquaretta 126). These losses continue to occur and there are still many tribes that remain impoverished including Maine’s Indian nations.

There is opposition to gaming from within the tribes, and not just from non-Native factions. Paul Pasquaretta, an assistant professor at Lyme Academy, College of Fine Arts, discusses the basis for tribal opposition to gambling. “Tribal gambling is viewed with the same suspicion that attends other forces that erode traditional culture and threaten Indian national sovereignty,” (127). The debate within tribes exists between two concepts of the long term result of a Native American casino. One argument is that the establishment of high-stakes gaming will provide Native Americans with the financial resources to increase sovereignty by increasing reservation employment rates, fund recovery of traditional practices, and to buy back tribal lands. An opposing argument is that by opening a casino as a way to increase tribal revenues, tribes are jeopardizing their sovereignty by engaging in a capitalist venture that is only another form of assimilation. Both arguments hold merit and there is no clear black and white answer. Gerald Vezinor, a professor of Native American Literature at the University of California in Berkeley, argues that the use of casinos to earn tribal revenues is degrading the traditional values of Native American tribes. He also states that the inevitable contention of the state and federal government surrounding casinos threatens sovereignty because, regardless of the sovereign rights of any tribe, the federal government has absolute power to discontinue tribal gaming rights or even tribal recognition altogether (Vezinor 412). This more traditionalist view of the impact of Indian casinos is not uncommon. According to Pasquaretta, “Among the Navajo, this traditionalist view helped to defeat a tribal referendum to establish a reservation gambling facility” (127). Vezinor proposes that the use of casino monies be reallocated to an international cause, “The liberation of Kurdish, Tibetan, Haitian, and other families, for instance, would sustain the moral traditions of tribal cultures” (413). Unfortunately, regardless of the purpose the Maine Indian tribes have for casino revenues, the debate currently raging between pro- and anti-gambling factions in the area is covering only the most immediate concerns – those of crime rate and congestion.

These issues are unquestionably legitimate concerns, but only focused on short-term consequences. Removing the blinders in this debate and looking at the larger picture is necessary in order to see the overall improvements that can be made with the income generated to the state and to the tribes. Vezinor’s concept of helping to realize international indigenous sovereignty is a grand, but not impossible notion. On a scale that applies to the lives of Maine residents and the long-term future of Maine, a tribal plan to revive the health of polluted waterways in the state has the potential to improve the health of every resident in the state. This plan can play a key role in widening the perspectives of voters.

Wenona Lola, a member of the Penobscot tribe who lives on Indian Island in Maine, stated in a letter to the Bangor Daily News that Maine’s resistance to an Indian casino is rooted in a fear of a change in power resulting from the tribe’s prospective income; “I cannot help but see that the prospect of Maine’s Indian tribes gaining their own economical control is outweighing any amount of money the state would receive from such a proposal.” Lola responded to a statement made by former Maine state governor King that a casino does not fit the Maine image by asking, “could someone please tell me how polluted lakes, rivers and streams fit with Maine’s image, way of life or values for that matter?”

The Penobscot River in Maine is central to the traditional lifestyle of the Penobscot Indian tribes. This river contains dangerous levels of mercury, dioxins, and PCBs which can cause birth defects and harm brain and nervous systems. An advisory issued by the Penobscot Nation Department of Natural Resources states that, “all children under the age of 8 and women who are nursing, pregnant, or could become pregnantâÂ?¦should eat NO FISH from Penobscot Nation Territory waters and other Maine inland waters”(“Penobscot Nation Fish Advisory” par 1). Those who do not fall into these categories are advised to consume no more than one meal of freshwater fish per week, and in some areas, no more than one meal per month. The PNDNR is currently working on plans to help improve the conditions of this waterway and have made substantial progress funded by grants and by partnering with groups such as Maine Audubon and American Rivers. In a recent victory for the Penobscot River Restoration Project, “PPL Corp. of Allentown, Pa., agreed to sell its Great Works Dam in Old Town and the Veazie and Howland dams to the coalition for $25 million, with a promise that the groups would not fight the company’s efforts to re-license its other dams”(Edgecomb par 7). The Restoration Project now has five years to raise the money for the agreement. In addition to the money needed to fund the purchase of these dams is, the cost of removing the three damns will be another $25 million. One of the most dammed rivers, the Penobscot has twenty hydropower dams located along its length. The removal of the Great Works, Veazie, and Howland dams will make the river more habitable for dozens of species of freshwater fish that would normally spawn upriver. Increased water flow will help cleanse the pollution from the waterway as well as reduce the water temperature making the river more hospitable for fish species (“Questions and Answers” par 10-11). There are more rivers in Maine that contain pollution that threaten the health of Maine residents, and in the long run, if they continue to degrade unchecked, recreation such as fishing, hiking, swimming, and boating will have to be severely regulated to protect public health. The seven paper mills situated along riverbanks release 100 million gallons of wastewater a day into the river (“Maine’s Dioxin Problem” par. 18). Issues such as dams and mill waste can be solved, but only with time, dedication, and funding. As an issue that affects all Maine residents, this is a point that is most often ignored in the casino debate. There is more at stake than just the impact a casinos would have on local communities. Residents need to consider how casino could help to rescue the Maine way of life.

Aside from the argument that casino money would improve the quality of life for Maine residents, it cannot be ignored that after hundreds of years of Euro-American suppression of Indigenous peoples, the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy’s request to establish a casino is a small one. Kim Isaac Eisler states in his book “Revenge of the Pequots” that “in the hundred years since their brutal forced relocation to reservations, American Indians had come to live in abject poverty.”(14) However, by the end of his book, after giving an extensive history and current events timeline of the Mashantucket Pequots, Eisler finishes by citing the monumental accomplishment of the Pequot Nation that used the United State’s own legal system against them after hundreds of years in which that same legal system had been used against Indian nations. His conclusion is conflicted, though. Eisler acknowledges the victory of the tribe, but finishes by saying, “[The Pequots] had created a new modern-day paradigm that changed the face of the country-not Native American, but Casino-American.”(242) It is this ambivalence that pulls at many people who are involved in the debate.

After the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot’s proposal to build a casino in Maine was vetoed by Maine citizens with a 2 to 1 margin, the tribes chose not to relent. It was evident that the residents could not be so vehemently apposed to gambling as they seemed, because while the casino was voted against, in the very same referendum, the request to allow slot machines at racetracks was passed. (“Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum” q. 2-3) This inconsistency in convictions of Maine residents has many different implications. In response to this ruling, the Maine Indian Nations are pursuing a different avenue. In a partnership with the Connecticut Pequot tribe, the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes bid for Bangor Historic Track Inc. when it underwent a change of ownership. The Bangor track was the only establishment in Maine to gain a slot machine permit after the vote. When the tribes submitted their bid, according to an article in Indian Country Today, the tribes’ submission was barred by the Maine Harness Racing Commission on the grounds that their proposal was late, “Judge Mead said he rushed the judicial process to avoid disrupting the harness racing season”(Adams, “Roundup” par. 3). Later he said that it was clear that the tribes were responding to the competition the slot machines would pose to their own gambling operations: the Penobscot tribe runs a high-stakes-bingo hall. Tribal attorney Kaighn Smith said that the Maine Harness Racing Commission was “very abrupt. Very abrupt. They see the Indians as spoilers,” he said (Adams, “Fallout” par. 5).

In a correspondence, Nicholas Peroff acknowledges the conflict that exists for both pro and anti-gaming activists, “an undermining of traditions/tribal values is a significant concern of those opposed to gaming as well as many who support gaming. The latter may see/acknowledge a danger, but nonetheless also see gaming as worth the risk in terms of a trade off for economic development opportunities, income for tribal members etc.” Despite the ambivalence that many have over the issue, it seems imperative to point out that, though Native Americans may experience an alteration to traditional ways as a result of establishing gaming, without gaming, many tribes may continue to be plagued with problems such as poverty, lack of education, and alcoholism because there is no money available to start finding solutions to these issues. Regardless of whether a tribe runs a casino to fund their nation or sells baskets to tourists, they will continue to be affected by and changed by American influence.

Penobscot High Stakes Bingo

As a group that is looking for a way to fund programs to improve the environment and the way of life in Maine, the state’s indigenous tribes are hardly acting with greed or self-indulgence. While providing revenues to improve the financial situations of Maine’s Indian Tribes, a casino would also double the state’s income by paying the state twenty-five percent of its profits in taxes. There is an argument that gambling will target low-income people and result in addiction and alcoholism. It seems the state of Maine does not have an issue with these problems when encouraging gambling in the form of the Maine Lottery. There are many different arguments that can be made for and against a casino in Maine, but ultimately it must be observed that the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes have the right to exercise their nation’s sovereignty.

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