Difficult Questions

Over the years, there have been many difficult questions relating to the settlement.   These include:
 
Who has the authority to regulate land use in the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy trust lands ... the State or the Tribes?  The tribes proposed legislation to the 115th Maine Legislature to give them this authority.  The Legislature enacted a compromise, which the Tribe and the Nation subsequently endorsed.  However, the Governor vetoed the bill and the Legislature did not override the veto.

To what extent do the tribes or the State have jurisdiction over tribal trust lands?   This is the broader question behind the debate about land use.  It also has arisen in relation to proposals by the tribes to expand tribal court jurisdiction.

To what extent do environmental decisions by the State affect the sustenance rights of tribal members?  There have been concerns that permitting actions by the Board of Environmental Protection may have the effect of diminishing the quantity and quality of fish and wildlife available for tribal members.  LD 99, An Act to Ensure the Protection of Tribal Fish Stocks and Other Natural Resources, raises this issue to the 119th Maine Legislature.

To what extent is the State is in compliance with requirements to make public benefits available to the tribes?  The Implementing Act provides that the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Indian Nation and residents of either Indian Territory are entitled to receive benefits from the State under state and federal programs, provided that federal funds received "within substantially the same period" for a "substantially similar" purpose are deducted.  The tribes do not believe that they have received all of the public benefits for which they are eligible or to which they are entitled.

To what extent should the Maine Implementing Act be amended? Some state officials have voiced the concern that the tribes are trying to renegotiate the settlement, whenever they request an amendment to the Act.  The tribes point out that the settlement was drafted in terms of concepts rather than specific statutory references and do not believe that the Implementing Act is the final word on tribal-state relations. 

These issues and other settlement-related issues are complex and require ongoing discussion by the State, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Indian Nation.