Indigenous Peoples Day
Indigenous Peoples Day
Today, in Maine, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. In light of the visceral divides some elected leaders choose to encourage, or excuse, I urge you to go rouge and do the hard work yourself, for your family and your community, by seeking #thetruth and acting to right past wrongs. It is true that you may not be personally responsible for past atrocities or present institutional design but it is equally so that you, and I, benefit today. We inhabit the indigenous homelands of the Wabanaki.
Our state has gotten ahead of many other U.S. regions through the work of the Maine-Wabanaki State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations. Legislation and other important initiatives have come out of this work that must be given full hearings and support. I will support any legislation that ensures my Boys and Girls Club of Presque Isle – Micmac BGC KidzCode students have the futures they deserve and makes my own children proud that they live in a just community.
Some resources to get you started:
Aroostook Band of Micmac official website:
http://micmac-nsn.gov/
http://micmac-nsn.gov/
Events occurring today, October 12, 2020, from the Portland Press Herald includes a screening of Emmy award winning documentary, “Dawnland”:
https://www.pressherald.com/2020/10/11/native-mainers-plan-to-reflect-educate-on-indigenous-peoples-day/
“Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations releases recommendations” articles from Coastal Enterprises Inc.:
https://www.ceimaine.org/news-and-events/news/2020/09/permanent-commission-on-the-status-of-racial-indigenous-and-maine-tribal-populations-releases-recommendations/
“Healing U.S. Divides Through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions”
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/11/922849505/healing-u-s-divides-through-truth-and-reconciliation-commissions
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/11/922849505/healing-u-s-divides-through-truth-and-reconciliation-commissions
Maine Legislative Scorecard by the Wabanaki Alliance:
https://wabanakialliance.com/maine-legislative-scorecard/
Summary of LD 2094:
