Get Herald RSSThe Penobscot tribe of Maine govern perhaps the thinnest nation in the world, a strip of territory running no more than a quarter-mile wide at any given point, snaking its way 150 miles up the center of the state. Its narrow line is so squiggly because it follows the Penobscot River, making the reservation the only one to exist entirely within the confines of a river.
Ever since the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Agreement of 1980, which gave the tribe state status as a municipality, Maine has defined the Penobscot reservation's borders and tribal authority in the tightest of terms. For the state, Penobscot jurisdiction does not extend to the water surrounding the 200 or so islands that make up reservation land, meaning that the tribe's stewardship of the river, which has 1,000 years of cultural significance, carries little legal sovereignty in the state's eyes.
Furthermore, as a municipality the reservation is subject to state influence, such as health laws and education funding, which encroach upon the tribe's self-governance. Although the settlement agreement also brought the tribe federal recognition, which, according to the United States Constitution, means that "only Congress can abrogate or limit an Indian tribe's sovereignty," Maine argues that federal rules don't apply when a tribe has negotiated its authority with the state. Instead of solidifying their status as "a nation within a nation," as other tribes have done, the Penobscot have seen the agreement erode the narrow boundaries and political autonomy of its reservation. The issue strikes a national chord at a time when the United States shows so much concern for homeland security and sealed borders.
A group of seven of us from Brown visited the Penobscot over spring break to learn more about their most recent legal struggles with Maine. In 2003, the tribe witnessed the Environmental Protection Agency approve Maine's request for the rights to issue water pollution permits along the river, not only on state-owned stretches of land, but also in areas within reservation lines. The rights, which the EPA previously held with the interests of the tribe at hand, essentially allow the state to reach into Penobscot territory for the benefit of Maine paper companies dumping their waste into the river.
Maine paper companies such as Lincoln Pulp and Paper produce much of the nation's paper and all of its business reply cards, providing the major source of employment for the state. In receiving the reins on water pollution regulations, Maine has the chance to overstep costly environmental standards and thereby cut a plump slice of extra profit for its major industry.
Meanwhile, the affront to the Penobscot tribe not only threatens the wellbeing of the river, but also sets a precedent for the intrusion of tribal lands. The Penobscot are bringing the case to federal district court, but should they lose, the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will face the danger of similar breaches of autonomy across the nation's reservations.
The United State's long-standing half-promise to ensure security for Indian tribes includes the Federal Indian Trust Responsibility, which is a legal compact to protect tribal interests and repay the debt of failed treaties. As Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall defined the compact in 1831, Indian reservations are "distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries, within which their authority is exclusive." Yet as these boundaries increasingly fade to a shell of past sovereignty, the United States turns its attention outward toward its own borders.
Little has captivated the United States more since Sept. 11, 2001 than the security of its borders, from the threat of another air attack to illegal entry along its 2,200 mile-long southern fence. In the past few months, outcry about immigration from Mexico has reached a new pitch, with the recent surge of 1,000 armed citizens joining the "Minuteman Project" at the Arizona-Sonora border, where they await illegal crossings iey-talkies and Border Patrol contacts. This winter, Congress decided to increase Border Patrol agents by 2,000 and pass the REAL ID Act, restricting state-issued driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants and making it harder for refugees to find asylum in the United States.
Between the attention going to who might be slipping into our country and how they might exploit us, we are slipping state and corporate privileges into reservations and letting tribal autonomy wilt unnoticed.
The Penobscot are looking to regain some ownership of their river by initiating the Penobscot River Restoration Project, a proposal to eliminate two major dams and build a bypass for a third to help restore the river's migratory fisheries. They are asking for aid from NGOs and the federal government, who could make the project happen by setting aside $20 million in 2007's budget. The initiative is a viable way to bring Washington's attention back to reservation claims and the stewardship of tribal land. You can help press President Bush for support by sending him a letter from www.penobscotriver.org. Should the effort succeed, the Penobscot will re-establish their influence on the river and set a constructive example for confirming the sanctity of borders
Jack Sweeney-Taylor '06 paddles down the discharge from University Laundromat.
