As the Legislature added his name to the list of lawmakers at the front of the House chamber last week, Tribal Rep. Wayne Mitchell was thinking about his ancestors, particularly his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his uncle.
All three of them held the same position as Mitchell as one of the Legislature’s two tribal representatives, but none of them was given a seat on the chamber floor, much less a name on the roll call board.
“Today is a small step, but a huge step in the recognition of Wabanaki people,” said Mitchell, of the Penobscot Nation, to the House of Representatives Jan. 21. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”
The posting of Mitchell’s name and fellow Tribal Rep. Donald Soctomah of the Passamaquoddy Tribe slid through the Legislature with ease, but that doesn’t diminish the progress it represents for native people and their relationship with state government, they said.
“Today is a monumental step,” said Soctomah to the assembled lawmakers. “We are no longer invisible.”
The addition of the names was accomplished with one new sentence in House Rule 525, which was sponsored by Reps. John Martin (D-Eagle Lake) and Peggy Pendleton (D-Scarborough). The addition of the names means that the tribal representatives can express their opinions about matters before the Legislature, though their votes are still not official.
Outside the chamber, Soctomah said the most frequent question he faces when he hosts Native American visitors is why his name is not listed with the other lawmakers.
“We’re worthy of having our name put up there, especially during the same week that Barack Obama became the first black president,” Soctomah said. “I’m hoping that when young native children see the name of the tribal representatives up there, it gives them the same hope.”
Last week’s change marked a positive event in a relationship between the tribes and the state that has been strained at times, particularly last year when disputes about funding for the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission boiled over.
Also proposed this session is the establishment of a holiday to celebrate Native American veterans. Both Mitchell and Soctomah said they are determined to mend frayed relationships.
(Statehouse News Service)
