Maine Governor Allegedly Threatens Wabanaki Nations over Elvers
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Apr 5, 2013, 12:20:07 PM4/5/13
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Maine Governor Allegedly Threatens Wabanaki Nations over Elvers
Gale Courey Toensing
April 05, 2013
Maine Gov. Paul LePage allegedly threatened to retaliate against all of
the Wabanaki Nations if the Passamaquoddy Tribe continues to exercise
its sovereign right to manage its saltwater fishery in a way that the
governor considers to be a violation of state law.
The alleged threats came during a phone call from LePage to
Passamaquoddy Chief Reuben Cleaves on Monday, April 1, following a
flare up over fishing rights the previous day when officials from the
Department of Marine Resources (DMR), state troopers and Maine game
wardens raided a small group of Passamaquoddy citizens fishing in the
Pennamaquan River and tried to check their licenses and seize their
gear. Around 60 Passamaquoddy citizens appeared on the scene within
minutes and the law enforcement officials dispersed.
According to Fred Moore, Passamaquoddy Fisheries Committee Coordinator,
LePage called Cleaves at his office in Sipayik during a briefing with
tribal councilors and members of the tribe’s Fisheries Committee.
Cleaves had the phone on speaker so everyone heard the conversation
with the governor, Moore said.
"Essentially, the governor called the chief and asked him what his
problem was in complying with state laws," Moore said. The state has
complained that the tribe is selling more elvers fishing licenses than
the state "allots" to the tribe. Elvers are tiny transparent baby eels
that swim upriver each spring in Maine and can fetch more than $2,500 a
pound.
Cleaves told LePage that the Passamaquoddy fisheries conservation
management plan limits the total allowable catch by pounds as opposed
to the state’s plan which limits the number of licenses issued. "Under
the state plan there’s no limit on the number of eels that can be taken
throughout the entire life stages of the American eels so they take
little ones, big ones, pregnant ones, whatever," Moore said.
The governor was obviously upset and his tone was harsh, Moore said.
"The governor said, ‘So in other words, you’re drawing a line in the
sand,’ and Chief Cleaves said, ‘Well, we’d like to work with you but we
have a different plan, we use another mechanism entirely.’ Then the
governor went on to say, ‘So in other words, what you’re saying is
you’re going to follow Indian law and not state law.’ And the response
was, ‘Well, I guess you could say that but we have a plan and it’s a
good plan and we’re going to stick with it.’"
That’s when LePage allegedly began his threats, Moore said. LePage
allegedly threatened to withdraw his support for the tribal-state Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, abandon his endorsement for a casino
referendum in the poverty-stricken Washington County, reverse an
executive order guaranteeing consultation with the Wabanaki Nations –
the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac – and shut the entire
fishery down, if Passamaquoddy continues to disregard state law on the
sale of licenses. (Related: Wabanaki Tribes, Maine Sign Historic Foster
Care TRC)
A delegation of Passamaquoddy officials traveled to Augusta, the state
capitol on April 3 to talk about the fisheries argument. The delegation
included Moore, Passamaquoddy Vice-Chief Clayton Sockabasin from the
Indian Township reservation, and Tribal Councilors and Fishery
Committee members Newell Lewey and Leslie Nicholas.
"We are hopeful that we can have an honest discussion," Lewey said in a
press release prior to the meeting "We the Passamaquoddy, the People
who Spear the Pollock, the saltwater fishers, are willing to talk but
we are unwilling to shed our identity."
After the meeting Lewey told Indian Country Today Media Network, "We
had a good meeting and I think it was productive. We found some common
ground and we’re going to work toward some better communication and
work closely to monitor what’s happening." Pressed for details, Lewey
said he first had to report to the tribe’s Fisheries Committee. He
acknowledged, however, that Passamaquoddy will continue to use its
management plan based on capping the total pounds of fish caught to
3,600 pounds, a total that has been endorsed by the Joint Tribal
Council of people from both Sipayik and Indian Township reservations.
The conflict over elvers fishing rights was a hot topic this
legislative session as the state drafted, then passed LD (Legislative
Document) 451, a draconian law that criminalizes the violation of state
laws limiting the taking of elvers. The law prohibits the Passamaquoddy
Tribe from issuing more than 200 licenses for elvers. According to a
media release from the governor’s office, under the management plan
established by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Maine
is restricted to issuance of 744 licenses. "The Passamaquoddy Tribe’s
issuance of 575 licenses to tribal members now puts the State out of
compliance with the license limitation, regardless of the actual pounds
landed," the release says.
The state’s interest in elvers came into play only in the last few
years as the price of the squiggly baby eels shot up astronomically.
According to the Bangor Daily News Maine’s Department of Marine
Resources’ calculate that the elver harvest earned nearly $38 million
in 2012 – around five times the $7.6 million the year before. In 2010
the elver fishery landed only $584,000 for licensed fishermen. The
elver fishery now ranks behind only lobster in Maine for overall
fishery value.
Lewey said that the tribe’s management plan is "steeped in the
traditions of our people, steeped in our commitment to this species at
all of its life stages, steeped in the conservation measures [that] are
a way of life for us." The current conflict over the tribe’s fishing
right comes as the elver season is only two weeks old, Lewey said, "but
the Passamaquoddy Tribe has been ‘in’ this conversation for over 500
years. We explicitly reserved our rights to hunt and fish ‘as formerly’
in the 1727 Treaty of Falmouth and in the Maine Indian Claims
Settlement Agreements. This means, as our ancestors fished and hunted,
so will we. These rights were not abrogated in the Treaty of Watertown,
nor in the 1794 Treaty. We can work on the plan, we welcome
collaboration, but we do not ask for permission, and we cannot accept
oversight," Lewey said. "We will always be Passamaquoddy. We will
always fish. This is inalienable."
[image at link] Robert F. Bukaty/AP
A fisherman in Maine holds elvers, baby eels worth more than $2,000 a
pound.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com//2013/04/05/maine-governor-
allegedly-threatens-wabanaki-nations-over-elvers-148611
Gale Courey Toensing
April 05, 2013
Maine Gov. Paul LePage allegedly threatened to retaliate against all of
the Wabanaki Nations if the Passamaquoddy Tribe continues to exercise
its sovereign right to manage its saltwater fishery in a way that the
governor considers to be a violation of state law.
The alleged threats came during a phone call from LePage to
Passamaquoddy Chief Reuben Cleaves on Monday, April 1, following a
flare up over fishing rights the previous day when officials from the
Department of Marine Resources (DMR), state troopers and Maine game
wardens raided a small group of Passamaquoddy citizens fishing in the
Pennamaquan River and tried to check their licenses and seize their
gear. Around 60 Passamaquoddy citizens appeared on the scene within
minutes and the law enforcement officials dispersed.
According to Fred Moore, Passamaquoddy Fisheries Committee Coordinator,
LePage called Cleaves at his office in Sipayik during a briefing with
tribal councilors and members of the tribe’s Fisheries Committee.
Cleaves had the phone on speaker so everyone heard the conversation
with the governor, Moore said.
"Essentially, the governor called the chief and asked him what his
problem was in complying with state laws," Moore said. The state has
complained that the tribe is selling more elvers fishing licenses than
the state "allots" to the tribe. Elvers are tiny transparent baby eels
that swim upriver each spring in Maine and can fetch more than $2,500 a
pound.
Cleaves told LePage that the Passamaquoddy fisheries conservation
management plan limits the total allowable catch by pounds as opposed
to the state’s plan which limits the number of licenses issued. "Under
the state plan there’s no limit on the number of eels that can be taken
throughout the entire life stages of the American eels so they take
little ones, big ones, pregnant ones, whatever," Moore said.
The governor was obviously upset and his tone was harsh, Moore said.
"The governor said, ‘So in other words, you’re drawing a line in the
sand,’ and Chief Cleaves said, ‘Well, we’d like to work with you but we
have a different plan, we use another mechanism entirely.’ Then the
governor went on to say, ‘So in other words, what you’re saying is
you’re going to follow Indian law and not state law.’ And the response
was, ‘Well, I guess you could say that but we have a plan and it’s a
good plan and we’re going to stick with it.’"
That’s when LePage allegedly began his threats, Moore said. LePage
allegedly threatened to withdraw his support for the tribal-state Truth
and Reconciliation Commission, abandon his endorsement for a casino
referendum in the poverty-stricken Washington County, reverse an
executive order guaranteeing consultation with the Wabanaki Nations –
the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac – and shut the entire
fishery down, if Passamaquoddy continues to disregard state law on the
sale of licenses. (Related: Wabanaki Tribes, Maine Sign Historic Foster
Care TRC)
A delegation of Passamaquoddy officials traveled to Augusta, the state
capitol on April 3 to talk about the fisheries argument. The delegation
included Moore, Passamaquoddy Vice-Chief Clayton Sockabasin from the
Indian Township reservation, and Tribal Councilors and Fishery
Committee members Newell Lewey and Leslie Nicholas.
"We are hopeful that we can have an honest discussion," Lewey said in a
press release prior to the meeting "We the Passamaquoddy, the People
who Spear the Pollock, the saltwater fishers, are willing to talk but
we are unwilling to shed our identity."
After the meeting Lewey told Indian Country Today Media Network, "We
had a good meeting and I think it was productive. We found some common
ground and we’re going to work toward some better communication and
work closely to monitor what’s happening." Pressed for details, Lewey
said he first had to report to the tribe’s Fisheries Committee. He
acknowledged, however, that Passamaquoddy will continue to use its
management plan based on capping the total pounds of fish caught to
3,600 pounds, a total that has been endorsed by the Joint Tribal
Council of people from both Sipayik and Indian Township reservations.
The conflict over elvers fishing rights was a hot topic this
legislative session as the state drafted, then passed LD (Legislative
Document) 451, a draconian law that criminalizes the violation of state
laws limiting the taking of elvers. The law prohibits the Passamaquoddy
Tribe from issuing more than 200 licenses for elvers. According to a
media release from the governor’s office, under the management plan
established by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Maine
is restricted to issuance of 744 licenses. "The Passamaquoddy Tribe’s
issuance of 575 licenses to tribal members now puts the State out of
compliance with the license limitation, regardless of the actual pounds
landed," the release says.
The state’s interest in elvers came into play only in the last few
years as the price of the squiggly baby eels shot up astronomically.
According to the Bangor Daily News Maine’s Department of Marine
Resources’ calculate that the elver harvest earned nearly $38 million
in 2012 – around five times the $7.6 million the year before. In 2010
the elver fishery landed only $584,000 for licensed fishermen. The
elver fishery now ranks behind only lobster in Maine for overall
fishery value.
Lewey said that the tribe’s management plan is "steeped in the
traditions of our people, steeped in our commitment to this species at
all of its life stages, steeped in the conservation measures [that] are
a way of life for us." The current conflict over the tribe’s fishing
right comes as the elver season is only two weeks old, Lewey said, "but
the Passamaquoddy Tribe has been ‘in’ this conversation for over 500
years. We explicitly reserved our rights to hunt and fish ‘as formerly’
in the 1727 Treaty of Falmouth and in the Maine Indian Claims
Settlement Agreements. This means, as our ancestors fished and hunted,
so will we. These rights were not abrogated in the Treaty of Watertown,
nor in the 1794 Treaty. We can work on the plan, we welcome
collaboration, but we do not ask for permission, and we cannot accept
oversight," Lewey said. "We will always be Passamaquoddy. We will
always fish. This is inalienable."
[image at link] Robert F. Bukaty/AP
A fisherman in Maine holds elvers, baby eels worth more than $2,000 a
pound.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com//2013/04/05/maine-governor-
allegedly-threatens-wabanaki-nations-over-elvers-148611
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