- Details
- By Jenna Kunze
-
During certain times of the year, the water is brown. Corey Hinton, Passamaquoddy told Native News Online. He describes his tribe’s drinking water from Boyden Stream Reservoir. The lake is often used as a recreational area and as a dumping ground to waterfowl.
Hinton stated that water delivered to the Passamaquoddy Tribe and to the neighboring cities is often discolored. It often smells like rotten eggs, or even chlorine. It has been shown to cause skin irritations and skin burning in children. This problem has been eradicated for many years.
The tribe has been advocating for years for the passage a bill that would allow them the right to regulate their own drinking waters. The bill was approved by the Maine Senate on Thursday and is now headed to the governor’s desk for final approval.
The Passamaquoddys water network is currently managed by the state of Maine. Maine’s unique jurisdictional arrangement with four federally recognised tribes, derived under the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (80), gives it certain powers that are normally reserved to the federal government. Hinton said that if the clean water bill passes, this will be the first time Maine will relinquish its jurisdiction over tribal land in any way.
Keep up with the latest news and stories from India.Sign up to receive our weekly reports straight to your inbox every Monday morning.
This bill is the first attempt by a single tribe to pass a bill. [in Maine]Hinton, who is also an attorney representing his tribe, said that he wanted to focus on a specific issue and to change the settlement act in relation to that issue. Native News Online. In the past, the Settlement Act was a mandate. With LD 906,We are changing the paradigm to ensure that the state of Maine does not have jurisdiction over any drinking water issues on Passamaquoddy land.
The bill does three things.
First, it exempts Passamaquoddy District, a non-tribal entity, and the water district in Maine that pays property tax, from taxation. Instead, the savings would be used to maintain the filter upgrades.
It authorizes two parcels tribally-owned fee land to be added to the territory of the Passamaquoddy Indians through the federal trust acquisition process. This will allow for access to alternative supplies of groundwater.
Last, it provides that the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and not the state, the authority to regulate drinking water standards within Passamaquoddy Indian territory.
Pictures of a young boy after he had washed his legs in the contaminated Boyden Stream Reservoir water. (Photo/Courtesy Noela Altvater)
Hinton stated that while this won’t make the water cleaner overnight, the water supply will continue to be dirty from birds using it as a bathroom. Our hope is that the water district will be better equipped for cleaning the water. It is possible that the tribe could provide an alternative source of drinking water to the water district by protecting some of its lands.
The Democratic Gov. will make the final decision about the bill. Janet Mills is expected to make a decision soon. Today, the Maine Legislature heard oral argument for a larger sovereignty bill that would restore sovereignty to four federally-recognized tribes. Friday, April 15th will see the House vote on this bill.
More Stories Like This
Reporter’s Note from: Society of Environmental Journalists 2022 Conference. Day Three
U.S. Secretary Of Energy Visits Navajo Nation
$46 Million to Combat Climate Change in Tribal Communities
Reporter’s Note from: Society of Environmental Journalists 2022 Conference. Day Two
Do you enjoy a Native perspective on the news and do you agree?
Over the past decade, we have covered important Indigenous stories that are often ignored by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the toppling of colonizer statues during the racial equity protests, to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools, we have been there to provide a Native perspective and elevate Native voices.
Although our news is free to all, it is not free to produce. We ask you to consider making a donation to support our efforts this month. Any amount, no matter how small, helps us to continue being a force for positive change in Indian Country. We also help to tell the stories that are often forgotten, erased or ignored.
Native News Online is now accepting donations. This will help support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
About the Author
Staff Writer
Jenna Kunze works as a reporter at Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Her bylines appeared in The Arctic Sounder and High Country News, Indian Country Today as well as Anchorage Daily News and Smithsonian Magazine. In 2020, she was among 16 U.S. journalists who were selected by Pulitzer Center to report about the effects of climate change on the Alaskan Arctic region. Prior to that, she was the lead reporter at Chilkat Valley News in Haines (Alaska). Kunze is based out of New York.
