In 1992, Penobscot Tribal Governor James Sappier rode in the Old Town Veterans’ Day parade as its grand marshal. Penobscot men and women veterans made up the parade’s honor guard and flag bearers, marking the first time a group of natives had served that purpose in a Maine parade.
Last week, Sappier and others from the state’s Indian tribes traveled to the State House in an effort to make Maine the only state in the nation that honors Native American veterans on their own day.
“In taking a hard, truthful look at the history of the creation of the United States and Maine, this should be a continuous event,” said Sappier, a Penobscot elder who is no longer his tribe’s chief.
Sappier’s testimony to the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans’ Affairs Committee was in support of a bill which would establish a permanent Native American Veterans’ Day, which is sponsored by Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative Donald Soctomah.
Indians from Maine have served the United States in every war since the American Revolution, according to a history of Wabanaki Indian veterans prepared by Dr. Harald E.L. Prins, a professor of anthropology at Kansas State University.
The Wabanaki Confederacy, established centuries ago, includes approximately 45,000 members of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Mi’kmaq (Micmac) tribes who reside in Maine and southeastern Canada.
On June 21, 1775, four days after the Battle of Bunker Hill, a contingent of four Penobscots, including Chief Joseph Orono, went to Watertown, Mass., to pledge the support of about 900 warriors for the revolution.
Soctomah seeks to commemorate that historic event by permanently establishing June 21 as Native American Veterans’ Day in Maine.
“Anytime a veteran is acknowledged, all veterans benefit,” said Soctomah in support of his bill. “The story of Native American veterans in Maine has not been told.”
Stan Ginish, a Vietnam-era veteran from Houlton, told the committee that veterans are a unique group that should not be divided. He said he feared that granting this request for Native Americans would lead to other groups seeking the same recognition.
“When you honor one group of veterans over another, you’re slapping that group of veterans in the face,” Ginish said. “I believe the proper thing to do here is to leave Veterans’ Day the way it is.”
Charles Shay, a Penobscot Indian Nation elder highly decorated for his military achievements, saw his first battle on D-Day at Omaha Beach and in 1945 was held as a prisoner of war for three weeks.
Shay recalled for the committee how 80 Penobscot men and four women volunteered for World War II, including himself and three of his brothers. He seeks an opportunity for Native Americans to honor their veterans, not a dilution of Veterans’ Day.
“We are trying to establish a day when our people can sing, dance, rejoice and honor their own,” he said after the hearing. “I don’t think that’s asking too much.”
Tom Naragon, assistant adjutant of the Dept. of Maine American Legion, said his organization does not support or oppose this measure, but expressed frustration about other veterans’ issues that are being neglected by the Legislature, such as providing health care an adequate number of caseworkers.
“This is just a piece of feel-good legislation,” said Naragon in an interview Monday. “We would rather have bills that support all veterans, not just a select few.”
The Legal and Veterans’ Affairs Committee was scheduled for further debate on this issue this week.
(Statehouse News Service)
