File #631: "DV-430.pdf"

Happy New Year to Our Readers!

W abanaki
A llian ce
Published with the support of the Penobscot Nation and Diocesan Human Relations Services, Inc.

Noo-proflt Orjmiuiioo
Poi!i|c Paid
Permit No. 1
4
Oraeo, Maine

January
1982

Tureen
story of claims

First of all I'd like. . .
Stacey Gilman, a Penobscot, was among youngsters talking to Santa Claus at a recent
annual Central Maine Indian Association Christmas Party. The well-attended party was
highlighted by Carroll Stevens, leading Indian dancing. Stacey is the daughter of Denise
Mitchell. Any resemblance between Santa and CMIA director James Sanborn is purely
coincidental.

AAicmac death Report due
AUGUSTA — A state report on the
hit-and-run death last summer of a
Micmac blueberry raker is expected to
support the official story that he was
killed when struck by a vehicle
operated by W ashington County
Sheriff s Deputy Murray B. Seavey, 50,
of Cherryfield.
Although the report will probably
not be released to the public. Deputy
Atty. Gen. James W. Brannigan told
Wabanaki Alliance that he hoped his
findings “
will be complete enough to
stop any speculation that it was done
by anyone else.’
’
Seavey has reportedly hinted that
another vehicle may have been in­
volved in the death of Joseph B.
Peters, 20, of Big Cove Indian reser­
vation in New Brunswick. Seavey
allegedly claimed Peters was already
dead when his own vehicle ran over the
body, on a foggy night, Aug. 17, 1981,
in Deblois.
However, re p o rts in dicate that
Seavey did not stop after his car struck
Peters. Further, Seavey did not admit
to the accident until some time later.
His Machias lawyer plea-bargained in
court, and Seavey pleaded no contest
to leaving the scene of “ personal
a
injury accident.”
He was fined $100.
A storm of protest followed the
Machias District Court action, with
Indians and non-Indians heaping criti­
cism on the handling of the case. Many
of the complaints were directed at
District Attorney Michael Povich, who
consented to re-open the case because,
in his own words, "the hue and cry has
been so loud.”Some of Povich’ critics
s

wondered why Povich first announced
a gTand jury would handle the Seavey
charges in superior court. Some critics
wondered why Seavey was not charged
with manslaughter, and others simply
felt questions w ere left unanswered.
Povich asked Brannigan to conduct a
full-scale investigation, and Brannigan
said the procedure is not unusual. “
I
hope to have some kind of factual
finding," Brannigan told this news­
paper, adding, “ ve located some
we’
people who haven’ been interviewed
t
before." He declined to be more
specific.
Brannigan said some evidence (pre­
sumably clothing with some traces of
paint) had been sent out of state for
analysis. He would not say what this
evidence was.
Seavey, a Cherryfield contractor,
resigned his job as part time deputy
sheriff. At the time of the accident, he
was working as a security guard for
Wyman’ a large blueberry firm. He
s,
remains head of the small Cherryfield
police force, although a petition was
initiated seeking his removal — in light
of the allegedly suspicious circum­
stances of the Peters case.
In a related action, Povich has asked
the court to dismiss a suit brought by a
Bangor lawyer on behalf of Irene
Augustine, a Peters relative working
for Central Maine Indian Association in
Orono. The $500,000 negligence suit
was filed in Penobscot County superior
court.
In another recent development, the
Canadian consulate in Boston, has
asked Brannigan to forward results of
his probe to the consultate.

ROCKPORT - Thomas N. Tyreen,
looking almost as youthful as when he
spent his first summer in Maine in 1967,
recently regaled Penobscots with a con­
densed version of the land claims struggle.
Tureen’ talk punctuated a three-day
s
tribal planning session held by Indian
Island government. He began by recogniz­
ing that there have been “
fundamental
changes in almost every area of tribal
government and Indian affairs.
“ e’ been so much in the thick of it I
W ve
don’ know if I ’ ever had the oppor­
t
ve
tunity to tell the whole story,” said.
he
D u rin g th e A m erican Revolution,
Massachusetts was anxious “ curry
to
favor with the Penobscots,”in exchange
for support, and a treaty was signed
recognizing a six-mile-wide corridor from
head of tide (now Bangor) up the Penob­
scot River to its headwaters. The Passamaquoddy were tapped to serve in the
Revolutionary war effort, and did so.
By 1786, Massachusetts officials had a
new deal for the Penobscots that would
take away the land on either side of the
river. However, the state party waited too
long; one year later the Penobscots
rejected the offer. This rejection was
pivotal to the land claims. Tureen said. If
the treaty had been ratified, it would have
preceded the 1790 Trade and Noninter­
course Act, which said all treaties with
tribes must be approved by Congress.
It wasn't until 1796—well after passage
of the Nonintercourse Act—that Massa­

chusetts succeeded in getting a treaty
ratified by Penobscots. As Tureen put it,
“ claim was a history of luck in many
the
ways. A lot of good fortune.”
General Henry Knox, a George Wash­
ington aide who settled at Thomaston,
w rote the Nonintercourse Act. It was
widely believed to apply to the west, and
was never enforced in the eastern states.
But it was the cornerstone of Maine Indian
claims.
The Penobscots w ere in many ways a
forgotten people for decades. In the 1950’
s
there were rumblings with a case Tureen
referred to as the “
Jim Murphy U.N.”
case, but it never went anywhere.
In 1964, Don Gellers, who according to
Tureen had flunked out of law school but
could still be admitted to the Maine bar,
began work with Passamaquoddy claims.
A Princeton resident named Plaisted, who
owned camps abutting Indian Township
reservation, decided to expand — on
Indian land. It was the last straw for
Passamaquoddys, who had watched many
acres of their reservation become ‘
alien­
ated.”
Gellers filed a claim in court for 6,000
acres, and two days later, in Tureen's
words, “ very fortuitous event”
a
occurred.
Gellers was arrested for possession of
marijuana, at the time a felony. (Shortly
afterward the possession charge was
reduced to a misdemeanor.) Gellers fled
the country, some saying he was framed
(Continued on page 6)

Pof luck from Pat
Upwards of 75 community mem bers attended a recent potluck supper and get-together
at Indian Island’ health center. The purpose, according to program director Patricia
s
Knox [above, serving a dish to Clarence Francis, left; Freeman Morey in background]
was “ get the community and staff together,”
to
and “
open lines of communication.”

:2

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

editorials
The moneymaker
ndian Island Bingo came out o f the closet recently with a full page
ertisement, and news story, in the November issue o f Wabanaki
ianee.
t’ high time the paper gave this worthwhile enterprise some
s
erage. The Sunday bingo games are certainly no secret, as they
■ a largely non-Indian crowd o f about 500, from miles around,
act
-/liies Francis and his stalwart comm ittee deserve considerable
dit for building Penobcot bingo into a $1 million operation. Bingo
going business, in the face o f continued carping about the tribe
ng involved in illicit gaming and gambling.
The nay-sayers are tiresome, and we don’ buy the argument that
t
go. or the game room with its slot machines, is evil. That is akin to
ing “
money is evil.”Certainly money can be put to evil uses, but
t is an ever-present danger.
Ve see Indian Island bingo proceeds supporting good causes, such
children’ recreation, building maintenance, and bean suppers,
s
u can’get more wholesome than that.
t
We do believe in strict supervision o f the game room. It is sad to
someone “
pump their paycheck” through a slot machine, but
t is an individual decision, and certainly there are worse things to
>port. At least, the money stays on the island and probably goes to
aforementioned good causes.
With so much money rolling in, the committee is under duress to
wide full accountability, financially and otherwise. We hope the
)ks are examined periodically. While we d o not challenge the
egrity o f committee members, we all have heard o f “
deep pockets”
connection with one program or another, at various times in the
3e’ history.
s
Who remembers Penobscot Indian Enterprises (PIE), or Wilder;s Waterways? Although still listed in the phone book, these tribal
sinesses bit the dust. Bingo, on the other hand, has been making
mey ever since it began five years ago.
There are few tribal projects that boast an income. We are
:imistic that with federal recognition and the land claims settlent. new and different money-making ventures will be tried.
With grants and loans ever harder to get, it’ gratifying to see a
s
3al business solidly in the black.

Quotable
No Indian tribe in exercising powers o f self-government shall make
enforce any law prohibiting the free exercise o f the press.
— Indian Civil Rights Act, 1968.
Wabanaki Alliance

Vol. 6, No. 1

January 1982

Published monthly by Wabanaki Alliance, through a sustaining grant from the
Penobscot Nation, under contract with Diocesan Human Relations Services, Inc.
Offices at 95 Main Street, Orono, Maine 04473. Telephone [207] 866-4903. Typeset
by the Penobscot Times Company. Printed by the Ellsworth American.

Reporters
Diane Newell Wilson
Brenda Polchies
Board of Directors
Jean Chavaree, Penobscot Nation, [chairman]
Donna Loring, Penobscot Nation
Jeannette LaPlante, Central Maine Indian Assoc.

Phone 827-6219
Phone 532-9442

Indian Island
Old Town
Old Town

A non-profit corporation. Contributions are deductible for income tax purposes.
Rates: S5 per year 1 issues]; S6 Canada and overseas; $10 for institutions [schools,
12
government, business, etc.]

Indian Township youngster .at Bangor YWCA pool.

Commentary

Nobody's
Indispensable
By Dean Chavers
I first met Anthony (not his real name)
about ten years ago, at a national meeting
which he had helped plan and coordinate.
He was just starting on his way up.
Three years before that, he had been in
the business world, and his regular attire
had been a three-piece suit. When I met
him, he was wearing engineer's boots,
jeans, and a leather jacket.
Something had snapped in him three
years before I met him. He had made a
visit to Alcatraz Island during the second
month it was occupied by the Indians of
All Tribes. The visit had changed him
from a businessman into a militant
spokesman.
He gave up his business, and formed a
coalition in one of the largest cities in the
nation, where he was living. Within a few
months of the formation of the coalition,
the group had established an urban Indian
Center.
Eventually this center became an
umbrella organization for a variety of
social and economic programs — alcohol­
ism recovery counseling, job training,
adult education, pre-school education,
tu to rin g p rog ra m s for sch o ol a ge
youngsters. Almost all their funds came
from the Federal government.
When we first met, Anthony told be
about his experiences being “
relocated”
from his reservation to Los Angeles,
where he learned his trade. He also told
me about what motivated him in the early
1970’ — the urban reservations full of
s
frustrated people, the hopelessness, the
unemployment, the alcoholism, the des­
pair, the lack of education, the constant
arrests, the squalid living conditions.
Anthony himself has only a high school
education. But he believes in the value of
education, and was the first member of
the Indian advisory committee for the
local university. In that role, he had for
years a guiding hand in the minority
group politics on the campus. Indian
people on the campus told me later that he
struck fear in the hearts of vice presi­
dents, deans, and department heads when
he strode down the halls with his
motorcycle jacket and boots.
Eventually, the Center became too
successful for Anthony to oversee it all.
His Board of Directors recommended,
when they w ere awarded a large contract
to operate a jobs center, that they form
another corporation for that center.
Apparently the Federal officials also
wanted a separate corporation.
The corporation was duly formed, and
many of the members of the Indian Center

Board, and Anthony himself, were mem­
bers of the jobs center Board. Anthony
had a lot to say about choosing Mike (not
his real name either) as the Executive
Director.
Anthony and Mike got along very well
at first, even though they w ere very
different. Mike had a Master's degree, and
was enrolled in a doctoral program when
he took the executive position. He put his
studies on the shelf for awhile, to gain
som e practical work experience.
Mike had been in school for about 20 of
his 27 years, and had spent three years in
the Army. He was from an eastern tribe,
while Anthony was from the West. The
glue that held them together was their
idealism, and their dedication to better
opportunity for the urban Indian.
One evening, at a board meeting,
Anthony and Mike had a big fight. It was
all verbal, but after the meeting Mike
called Anthony down outside, accusing
him of using scare tactics to try to have his
way. He called som e of Anthony's fol­
lowers, many of whom were reformed
down-and-outers, of being the “
Indian
Mafia."
Anthony couldn’take this threat to his
t
position, the hard work he had put in for
over a decade to win the things he had
won. At the next election of Mike s board,
Anthony packed it with his own followers.
Shortly afterward, the Board fired Mike.
Instead of going back to his doctoral
program, as Mike had said he would do
after a few years, he go another job in the
city, and spent the better part of a year
getting control of Anthony’ board. He
s
was still a member himself, and succeeded
in winning enough support at the next
election to control it. The board promptly
fired Anthony.
By this time, there were a few dozen
Indian organizations in the city. Because
of the organizing Anthony had done, other
Indian people had formed welfare leagues,
social service agencies, education pro­
grams, and other types of community
groups. Anthony tried for awhile to get
hired by one of these organizations, but
could not convince them that he was
indispensable, as he once was.
The groups had developed their own
leadership, and many of the new Indian
leaders w ere college educated. Most of the
job descriptions for executive positions
called for a college degree, or a master’
s.
After a few months of frustration trying
to find another home base, Anthony gave
up and went back to his old trade. The
movement that he had helped to create
had bypassed him.

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

Page 3

letters
Reader in Kenya

Please renew

Mombasa, Kenya
To the editor:
Greetings and peace from Kenya.
Would you renew my subscription for
the coming year. I'm sending you a check.
It is good to read about the news from the
Maine Indians. I liked “ talk with Tom
A
Tureen," in the August issue. Wabanaki
Alliance gets here three or four months
late.
Keep w ell... success on your work with
the paper.
Fr. James Roy, Maryknoll

Center Ossipee, N.H.
To the editor:
Please renew my subscription to Wab­
anaki Alliance.
We certainly are enjoying your paper.
Enclosed is a $5 check.
Thank you.
Rodney A. White

Ethnic heritage
Boston
To the editor:
I am currently working on the Wab­
anaki Curriculum Development Project
funded for one year under the Ethnic
Heritage grant of Title IX. I feel that your
newspaper is a valuable resource and am
interested in obtaining all the back issues
as well as beginning a subscription for the
future issues.
Please let me know what it will cost me
to have the back issues. I have made the
subscription notice out in my name and to
my personal address as your newspaper is
a popular one at the center and issues tend
to disappear as soon as they arrive. I
remember this from my days as the Circle
editor and it still seem s to hold true.
Jacquelyn M. Dean
Project Coordinator

Left Island at 10
Somerville, Mass.
To the editor:
Will you please let me know how much
your paper is for one year?
(I was born on Indian Island, left there
when I was 10 — I am now 77.)
Emerson H. Lewis

Growing crisis

New York City
To the editor:
The use of behaviour control and human
experimentation techniques is on the rise
in the U.S. The m ost ominous of these
programs is the Long-term Control Unit
at the Marion, Illinois, Federal Prison.
Many men have been driven insane in this
unit. In recent years, nine have committed
suicide.
Because of this grow ing crisis, the
prisoners in the control unit, “ Marion
the
Brothers," brought a precedent-setting
class action suit against the U.S. Bureau of
Prisons, Bono vs. Saxbe, which seeks to
Kind of neat
close the control unit permanently. It was
first tried in 1975 in the federal courts. In
Petersburg, Va.
1978, the court ruled in favor of the
To the editor :
Bureau of Prisons.
I recently read a copy of your news­
The decision is now being appealed. It is
paper here at the library. It was the June
important that the Marion Brothers win.
issue and I was wondering if you might
If the prison system wins, other control
possibly send me a copy.
units like Marion’ could be built. And
s
I am in prison and have no funds to take
even political activists who are imprisoned
a subscription at this time. I found it well
because of their work, could become
written and very informative. Being from
Maine — well, it is just interesting. ‘
Kinda’ candidates for these units.
For those who want more information,
nice to keep in touch with events in the
and, hopefully, want to help, write:
area. ‘
Kinda’
neat!
Marion Brothers News Report, 4556a
Thanking you in advance for time and
Oakland St., St. Louis, Mo. 63110, or call
consideration.
314-533-2234.
Raymond L. Currier
Charles Colcord

Their best
Proud students, David Tomah, left, and Ron Sockabasin, with proud teacher. Sister
Shirley, at Indian Township Elementary School.

Cuddled up

One-year-old Myriah Dana, daughter of Carol Dana and Stanley Neptune of Indian
Island, knows what’best in wintertime . . . bundle up, and it’put a smile on your face.
s
l

Island council d e b a t e s hunting
INDIAN ISLAND — The tribal council
wrangled for hours recently with hunting
on newly acquired lands, and passed a
motion to reconsider closing territory to
non-members.
On hand was tribal biologist Timothy
Lukas, who raised the question of susten­
ance versus sport hunting.
Councilor Watie Akins said establishing
hunting regulations gives the Penobscots
"an opportunity to go for som e of that
sovereignty”
spelled out in the land claims
settlement.
Councilor Gilbert Francis got a few
laughs when he proposed “
food for the
needy, not just the greedy.”
Finally, a motion by Irving Ranco was
passed that excludes non-members from
participating in hunting on Indian terri­
tory. Tribal members hunting with nonIndians will lose their licenses.
Fee lands (those not tax-exempt to the
tribe) include Lakeville, 33,000 acres;
Prentiss, 1,000; Springfield, 5,000; Lee,
3,000; Carroll, 4,000; Carabasset, 23,000;
Williamsburg, 5,000.
Trust lands, similar to the reservation
land, includes Matagamon, 6,000 acres;
Matamiscontis, 18,000; Alder Stream,
22,000 acres.
The council agreed that regulations for
the 1982 hunting season should be
resolved well before the season opens.

PROJECT CHILD FIND
A PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS |
| PROJECT CHILD FIND will be held |
| at the Indian Township School on |
1 Thursday, January 7, 1982, at 3:00 p.m. |
I Do you know of, or have a child with |
| special needs in walking or running, in |
| speaking or listening, in eating or I
| dressing, in following directions,
| getting along with others, in being |
| afraid of things or others?
If this child is under 21 years of age, |
| not in school, and is a resident of the §
| P assam aquoddy Indian T ow nship, |
I please contact the CHILD FIND PRO- •
I GRAM at Indian Township School,
I Resource Room. The telephone number |
- 796-2362.

In other business, the council voted 6
-1
to approve a $16,350 contract with Wab­
anaki Alliance newspaper, providing par­
tial support of operations. The Penobscot
Nation, by terms of the contract, allows
Diocesan Human Relations Services, Inc.,
to administer the newspaper. The con­
tract is valid to July 1, 1982.
Voting in favor w ere Donald Nelson,
Beth Sockbeson, Nicholas Dow, Francis
Ranco, Kenneth Paul and Gilbert Francis.
Opposed was Watie Akins.

ARTIST NEEDED
FOR
COVER DESIGN FOR
WABANAKI BIBLIOGRAPHY
being prepared by Eunice BaumannNelson, under the auspices of Maine
Indian Committee, American Friends
Service Committee.
Interested persons are invited to
submit black and white sketch using
either original or traditional Native
American motifs.
The artist whose sketch is selected
will be asked to prepare finished design
and will receive:
Honorarium of $50
For further information, contact:
Eunice Baumann-Nelson, P.O. Box
49, Old Town 04468 — 827-2121
or
Mary Griffith, R.R. 1 Box 177A,
,
Freeport 04032 — 865-6549
or
Nancy St. John, 329 Front Street.
Bath 04530 — 442-8656

HOUSE FOR SALE
73 W est Street
Indian Island
Seven rooms, large bath, oil furnace,
new siding. Very well built. Large
double lot, from Center Street to Pen­
obscot River frontage.
$12,000 firm
Call or write to:
Jean A. Moore
1111 W est Northfield Blvd.
Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37130
615-896-2992

Page 4

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

The old days: '
Don't
bring white boys hom e'
INDIAN ISLAND — A great many
changes have taken place here in physical,
material ways. But drastic changes in
attitude have also occurred.
Just ask Dorothy Ranco Beatty, who at
79 can recall “ old ways" of the Penobthe
scots . . . with a gleam of mischief and
humor in her eye that time has not dulled.
Now a resident of Raymond, Beatty
enjoys an occasional visit to the Island,
and recently made the trip so that she
•wold cast her ballot for lieutenant gov­
ernor of ftp ,,-ibe. On Oct. 24, she cele­
brated her 25th wedding anniversary with
Monty Beatty, a Paiute native of Nevada.
(The couple met while in a traveling circus
dance company.)
For one thing, non-Indians were not
always welcome. “
My father told me,
‘ t ever bring any white boys into the
don’
house.’ ” But one afternoon. Beatty
brought home her date; he played the
piano and sang well, but father threw him
out bodily. “ was so embarrassed to go to
I
school the next day,”
she recalls.
“ didn't marry white men in those
We
days, that’ a thing more lately here,”
s
Beatty said.
Welfare was unheard of, in early times.
“
The only people who got something for
free were the widows. They got what we
called the ‘
weekly’ Today, Beatty says,
.’
’
"the Indians don't appreciate" the advantages they have. “ s awful,”
It’
she said.

Her father owned a cow, and people
used horses to get around. And “
every­
body,”children, women, would wash in
the brook; “
sort of a holy water — you’
d
just splash your face a little.”
Discipline was everywhere. The Cath­
olic nuns who taught school could slap you
up to 20 times on the palm of your hand
with a ruler. “
We never sassed our
family," Beatty said, adding that she
helped with family chores.
Beatty claims her father, Joseph Ranco,
was the “
real”founder of the Old Town
Canoe Company, and that he "had a patent
on it.” She said the Gray boys, who
attended Harvard and smoked pipes, stole
the plans from her father, who built bark
as well as wood-and-canvas canoes. He
used to take little Dorothy and her
brother to sportsmen’shows.
s
Later, as an adult, Beatty had “
an Dorothy Ranco Beatty, age 79.
Indian show. W e travelled all over the
country. (W had) an exhibit of Indian arts
and crafts made here. We didn’ have
t
anything Indians didn't make."
However, Beatty remembers once beat­
ing the competition by carefully peeling
off the “
made in Japan”labels from crafts
sold as “
Indian.”
INDIAN ISLAND — Penobscot Nation
Asked if she missed the Island life,
Beatty said she had considered returning Gov. timothy Love has sent a telegram to
to the reservation, but if she did, she said, the Maine Congressional Delegation re­
questing immediate intervention to fore­
“ d get up and blow my top.”
I’
stall massive cuts in federal support to the
tribe.
The proposed fiscal 1982 Penobscot
Nation budget is close to $10 million. But
Love said this is only a “
wish list,”
and the
actual budget will be under $3 million.
perform roof repairs and renovate heating
Love’ telegram — which says the land
s
systems.
claims act provisions have been “
disre­
garded, rejected and suppressed" by the
Paiute tribe picks out land federal government — came on the heels
of a telegram to the tribe from the U.S.
WASHINGTON — The recently restor­ Bureau of Indian Affairs’Eastern Area
ed Paiute Tribe of Utah has selected 13 Office, directed by Harry A. Rainbolt, a
veteran BIA official.
sites in five counties for re-establishment
Rainbolt’telegram said, “ are faced
s
We
of a 15,000 acre reservation, tribal auth­
with further program reductions on top of
orities said.
The tribe was terminated in 1954 and the $168,000 we took on June 25,1981, for
fiscal year 1982.”Rainbolt warned that in
restored April 3,1980.
addition to reductions in many programs,
the following programs would be elim­
inated: agricultural extension, com pre­
hensive planning, “
youth work learn
program,”commercial and enterprise de­
velopment, adult education and direct
employment.” He went on to say that
“
phasedown actions should be developed
immediately.”
Wabanaki Alliance spoke by telephone
with Rainbolt, who said “
everything is
tied to the continuing resolution" of Con­
gress, that carries programs at last year’
s
budget levels. Congress had not passed a
final budget at press time, and Rainbolt
said he had no idea what to expect in a
new BIA budget.
Vincent J. Lovett, public information
officer with BIA, said he expected a 12
percent across the board budget cut,
resulting in some $20 million being
trimmed from the total BIA budget.
Love said in his telegram that “
the

Love protests cuts

Three grants a w a r d e d to Point
WASHINGTON — TheM aine Congres­
sional delegation announced a $79,250
federal grant has been approved for
Maine Indian Education, Pleasant Point
school, to develop and carry out ele­
mentary and secondary school programs.
The Department of Housing and Urban
Development awarded two grants to the
Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reserva­
tion Housing Authority. One, for $142,840,
is to renovate ducts, replace ventilation
and repair buildings. The other, a sum of
$120,000, will pay to alter chimneys,

X-ing guards
Maxwell [Chick] Barnes, in charge of environmental health at Pleasant Point, checks on
new volunteer school crossing guards at Rt. 190, the highway that bisects the
reservation. Barnes recently initiated the first such program in Passamaquoddy
history. Additionally, blinking lights will be installed at the two locations in the near
future, he said.

N EED EXTRA MONEY?
Dig out those old postcards and turn
them into cash. I buy old postcards of
all kinds — Santa, Halloween, patriotic,
real photo types, etc. Also vary inter­
ested in postcards about the Indians in
the Northeast. For more information
write to:
Betty Bridges
Box 234
17 Young Lane
York Harbor, Maine 03911
or call: 363-2867

Penobscot Indians have never received
full services”due them under federal rec­
ognition, which was accorded the tribe
several years ago in the process of estab­
lishing the land claims case.
The telegram was sent to Senators
George J. Mitchell and William S. Cohen,
and Congressmen David F. Em ery and
Olympia J. Snowe.
Love and other tribal leaders flew to
Washington to lobby for funds they
believe the federal government owes the
Penobscot Nation.

Clinic halts joint
tribal contract
INDIAN ISLAND — By resolution of
the tribal council, the Penobscot health
department has ended all cooperative con­
tracts for direct medical care with Passamaquoddys.
Patricia E. Knox, health program
director for the Penobscot Nation, said the
termination of agreements applies only to
contract care, and direct or em ergency
services will not be affected.
Previously, contracts were worked out
with Passamaquoddy health centers at
Indian Township and Pleasant Point
reservations. Non-Penobscot Indians who
receive care from the Indian Island clinic
should contact Knox. A letter will be sent
to these persons explaining changes in the
cooperative agreements, first set up in
1979.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
POSITION: Director, Employment
and Training Program.
DUTIES: Director will oversee the
operations of a bi-lingual vocational
assembly project, a vocational educa­
tion counselling project, a training and.
technical assembly project, a Job Corps
contract, and a CETA program.
Q U A L IF IC A T IO N S : A pplicants
should have an administrative back­
ground and preferably had experience
working in a manpower or training
program.
SEND RESUME TO:
Ms. Deborah Ginnish
Boston Indian Council, Inc.
105 South Huntington Avenue
Jamaica Plain,
Massachusetts 02130
Tele. 617/232-0343

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

Page 5

Indians keep their
culture, teachers told
PORTLAND — ‘ things that matter
‘
The
to us as Indians have been kept invisible,”
said Wayne Newell, director of Passamaquoddy Health Services, in opening a
recent teachers' conference. “
There has
been a presumption that we could be
‘
turned into something’that we could be
,
educated to become like the majority,”
said Newell, “ there is a lot left in our
but
own value system.”
Sixty teachers attended the day-long
workshop on Learning and Teaching
about Indians in Maine, sponsored by the
American Friends Service Committee.
Resource leaders for*the conference were
Carol Dana, Penobscot; Gary Ennis,
Maliseet, director of Aroostook Indian
education; Dr. Eunice Baumann, Penob­
scot; Deanna Francis, Passamaquoddy, an
organizer of Sebayik Nation House and a
student of traditional medicine; and Dr.
Peter Paul, folklorist and expert on
Maliseet culture and language.
Citing an incident he had run into a day
earlier, Newell quoted a restaurant wait­
ress who told a co-worker: “
Old people
always want something right away fast.
They're afraid things will run out.”
There
was no real evidence for such a generaliza­
tion about old people, Newell pointed out.
“
Aboriginal people have been victims of
the same kind of blanket judgment. It
continues to happen in our school systems.
We perpetuate the belief that somebody
not like us in inferior. We assume a ‘
norm’
and decide that some one different from
the norm is not quite up to par.”
Newell wondered how many in the
audience had had the experience of

learning more than one language as a
child. “
When I first went to school, I didn’
t
understand English,”said Newell, “ I
but
learned. That is a regular accomplishment
for our Passamaquoddy children. It
doesn’necessarily help them to score well
t
on the standard achievement tests. People
then pay too much attention to the test
score instead of asking, ‘
What is this
child’potential?’
s
”
In reference to the 1980 land claims
settlement, Newell commented that neith­
er side had won. “
We had to give up
something and the other side had to give
up something. It is done. History will
show whether we were right. We are a
little bit wealthier now. The Passamaquoddys are now the second largest blue­
berry grower in the state. We have a little
more land. But we Indians and nonIndians still have the task of under­
standing each other. I don’think we have
t
made much progress on that.”
Teachers were asked about their use of
the social studies text “
Maine: Dirigo,”
and its chapters written by Wabanaki
Indians. The comments were warmly
favorable. “ wanted to teach from the
I
point of view of an Indian. I’ really
m
grateful for the book.” The resource book
“
is particularly good.” One teacher re­
ported that it was good to get in touch
with Indians in her community. “ was
It
hard to build contacts with Indians in the
community and get their confidence,”
she
said, "but we learned from Indians things
we couldn’anticipate in lesson plans."
t
Wabanki Alliance assisted in preparing
the textbook.

Namias quits Indian task force
BOSTON — Barbara Namias, a Mo­
hawk, has resigned as coordinator of the
Federal Regional Council’ Indian Task
s
Force. She cited a “
frustrating year" with
no continued funding as reasons for the
resignation.
Namias, a former staffer with the
Quaker American Friends Service Com­
mittee, has accepted a job as health and
community services director for Boston
Indian Council, serving Micmacs and other
area Indians.
"The Federal Regional Council hasn’
t
functioned this year,”Namias told Wab­
anaki Alliance. She said the transition to
the Reagan administration and its policies
left the council’future existence clouded.
s
There is currently no funding proposal for
the agency in Washington.
"W e’ been on hold,” said.
ve
she
The task force has for a number of years
served Maine and New England Indian

groups, soliciting and allocating Admin­
istration for Native Americans (ANA) and
other funds. Penobscots, Passamaquoddys, the Association of Aroostook
Indians and Central Maine Indian Associa­
tion have all benefited from the task
force’work.
s
Namias’
predecessor, Gregory Beusing,
was a well known figure to Indian people
in Maine, and had also been involved with
the Quakers.
When a reporter called Namias, she was
discouraged because Marguerite Smith, a
Shinnecock Indian working for Union
Carbide, Inc., had not showed up for a
December task force meeting. She was to
discuss corporate fundraising.
“ have no money and no commitment
We
tor money. This has been a frustrating
year," Namias said. She has held her task
force job 1 months.
4

LISTEN UP — Vicki Daigle coaches Penobscot kids in gymnastics.

ORSON ISLAND home built from scratch by Penobscot, Neil Phillips on old RR bridge.

A Twain's-eye view
o f Noble Savage
By Paul A. Francis, Jr.
It is always interesting, and often
wistfully rewarding, to read American
literature of the 18th and 19th centuries.
In it one may discover, amongst its
manifold aspects pertaining to early
American life, the white man’ initial im­
s
pressions of the American Indian. For the
most part, the Indian fares tolerably well
in this nascent literature, and perhaps too
well. These early writers tended to view
the Indian with a romantic eye, conse­
quently creating the so-called “
Noble
Savage" myth. This myth, in itself, is not
to be deplored, for there was much in the
Indian lifestyle that was romantic. Per­
haps it is only the terminology that must
be condemned, for how can a savage
aspire to nobleness when he, figuratively
speaking, possesses no more laudable
mannerisms than a marauding barbarian?
The very earliest American authors,
such as James Fenimore Cooper, (17891851) contributed greatly to the mythification of the American Indian. His
Leather stocking Tales can be read with a
winsome, even though incredulous, eye.
Yet, even he often referred to intractable
Indians (those, generally speaking, who
truculently opposed British hegemony) as
“
reptiles.”
This epithet is not too bad —
I’ been called much worse. But later
ve
authors, such as Mark Twain, saw the
“
Noble Savage" myth as so much bull, and
he, being the satirist that he was, under­
took to destroy the myth with a pen much
mightier than the sword. The following
excerpt from Twain’Roughing It is, even
s
by today’ wanton standards, bigoted.
s
One may read it and become enraged; or,
one may read it and laugh the pitying
laugh of forbearance. The unfortunate
thing, in any event, is that the passage
may very well voice the true convictions
held by most Americans, then and now,
regarding to the American Indian.
"We,”began Twain, “
came across the
wretchedest type of mankind I have even
seen. I refer to the Goshute Indians. . . .
Such of the Goshutes as we saw, along the
road and hanging about the station, were
small, lean, ‘
scrawny’
creatures; in com­

plexion a dull black like the ordinary
American Negro; their faces and hands
bearing dirt which they had been hoarding
and accumulating for months, years, and
even generations, according to the age of
the proprietor; a silent, sneaking, treach­
erous-looking race . . . indolent, ever­
lastingly patient and tireless, like all other
Indians [bold mine]; pridless beggars —
for if the beggar instinct were left out of
an Indian he would not "go,”any more
than a clock without a pendulum; hungry,
always hungry, and yet never refusing
anything that a hog would eat, though
often eating what a hog would decline;
hunters, but having no higher ambition
than to kill and eat jackass rabbits,
crickets, and grasshoppers, and embezzle
carrion from the buzzards and coyotes;
savages who, when asked if they have the
common Indian belief in a Great Spirit,
show something which almost amounts to
emotion, thinking whiskey is referred
to. . . .
“
The . . . Goshutes are manifestly
descended from the . . . gorilla, or
kangaroo, or Norway rat, whichever
animal — Adam the Darwinians trace
them to.
“
One would as soon expect the rabbits
to fight as the Goshutes and yet they used
to live off the offal and refuse of the
stations a few months and then come some
dark night when no mischief was ex­
pected, and burn down the buildings and
kill the men from ambush as they rushed
out.
"It was curious to see how quickly the
paint and tinsel fell away from [the Indian]
and left him treacherous, filthy, and repul­
sive — and how quickly the evidence
accumulated that wherever one finds an
Indian tribe he has only found Goshutes
more or less modified by circumstances
and surroundings — but Goshutes. after
all. They deserve pity, poor creatures; and
they can have mine — at a distance.
Nearer by, they never get anybody's.”
Note: The proper spelling of Twain’
s
“
Goshutes” Gosiutes. He may have been
is
satirizing the tribe’ name itself by
s
beginning it with Gosh-: Gosh utes!

THE ASSOCIATION OF AROOSTOOK INDIANS
Would like to announce the opening of fiscal officer, fiscal officer’duties include:
s
administration of personal functions of budget department, such as training, work
scneculing, promotions, transfer and performance ratings, and may include the
following: direct financial planning, and procurement, delegates authority for
receipt disbursement, banking, protection and custody of funds, securities and
financial instruments. Analyzes financial records to forecast future financial
position and budget requirements. Prepares financial for AAI Office of Adminis­
tration and the Board of Directors. Resume and letter of application should be
sent to: Clair Sabattis, President, Association of Aroostook Indians Corp. P.O.
Box 223, Houlton, Me. Requests for applications may be made bv phone to either
Clair Sabattis or Michael Carlos, 532-7317. EOE.

Page 6

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

The land claims tale recounted
represent Maine in dealing with the
tribes.)
Still, the times were uncertain: “
Con­
gress might well have wiped us out but for
Jimmy Carter coming into office,”Tureen
remarked. Also deserving credit was Sec­
retary of the Interior Cecil Andrus, he
said.
In July 1977, retired Judge William B.
Gunter, at Carter’ request, suggested a
s
take-it-or-leave-it offer of 100,000 acres.
A telegram was sent to Carter bearing
87 names as diverse as Dick Gregory and
the president of the Maine Bar Associa­
tion, opposing the Gunter solution.
By the fall of 1977, a White House task
force had produced a joint memorandum
of understanding. (Large landholders
w ere outraged at the $5 per acre in
Gunter's plan — a figure based on tax
valuation.) “
There was a howl of protest,"
Tureen said.
A significant question came from a
surprise corner, when Francis C. Sapiel of
Indian Island, attending the President’
s
“
town meeting” Bangor, asked Carter if
in
he would uphold the Indians' right to
bring their claim by vetoing legislation to
end the claims. The President said yes, he
would veto any such legislation.

Winston quits
money firm

Thomas N. Tureen at Rockport.
(Continued from page 1
)
by police, others that he was “ up”by
set
Passamaquoddys unhappy with his social
involvement with the tribe.
Tureen called the arrest fortuitous
because Gellers based his argument on the
concept that the early treaty was valid,
despite the Nonintercourse Act. Tureen
took over the case in 1969, and turned it
around. Tureen had clerked for Gellers as
a summer intern in 1967, and had worked
one summer on a western Indian reser­
vation. He wrote a paper called “
Our
Brother's Keeper," exploring the rela­
tionship of U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
to Indians.
The major issue em erged as whether or
not the Nonintercourse Act applied in
Maine ... “
people thought it didn’for 180
t
years,”
Tureen said.
One of the early land claims meetings
brought the Penobscots into the case in a
joint venture with Passamaquoddys. At
the m eeting w ere the late Ken Thompson
(a lawyer), his Penobscot wife, Sipsis, and
Penobscot James Sappier.
Things were rolling by 1971, when
Tureen discovered by chance that a
federal statute of limitations on filing
Indian lawsuits expired July 1972. “
The
clock was ticking,”
Tureen said.
Tureen wanted the courts to force the
Department of the Interior to fulfill its
obligations to Penobscots and Passama­
quoddys. A memo sent to the Interior
Department had “
disappeared.”But en­
couragement came from Bureau of Indian
Affairs official Louis Bruce, who said,
“
sure, let’do it.”
s
Tureen recalled, “
we w ere all very
young . . . I had put together a team of
lawyers, in part just so I wouldn’ get
t
picked off as easy as Don Gellers."
Maine's political delegation pitched in,
with right-wing Senator Margaret Chase
Smith calling up President Nixon, telling
him to “ going." Gov. Kenneth Curtis
get
said give the Indians their day in court.
Senator Edmund S. Muskie and Con­
gressmen William Hathaway and Peter
Kyros lent liberal support.
Things grew m ore tense as the statute
of limitations deadline drew near. Tureen
said that at the time he “
thought the
tribes could come away with something
significant," such as $10 million for each
tribe, and 200,000 acres.
On July 17,1972, the claim was filed.

On July 1 Congress extended the
8,
statute of limitations — and it has since
been extended again, until next year.
In 1975, the court held that a trust
responsibility existed, and that the Non­
intercourse Act applied, even to tribes not
federally recognized.
By the next year, the court’ ruling
s
became final, and nobody had appealed it.
Why didn’then Maine Atty. Gen. Joseph
t
E. Brennan appeal? Tureen suggested
that Brennan was a “
liberal”at the time,
or simply did not pay close attention to the
case.
Tureen said he explained the land
claims case to Gov. James B. Longley at a
dedication ceremony at Pleasant Point,
but the Governor apparently was dozing
off.
When the impact of the claims began to
hit home — Indians sought two thirds of
the state plus back rent — the Maine Con­
gressional delegation asked for extin­
guishment of the claims, and legislation
would have limited Indians to far smaller
monetary claims through the Indian
Claims Commission.
“ was a very scary period,”Tureen
It
said.
Tureen blamed Longley for anti-Indian
propaganda, “
the demagogic power that
he had . . . to use the media." Portraying
the late Governor as a sort of Hitler,
Tureen said he “
could have been elected
Em porer of Maine for life.”
Tureen held quite a different opinion of
widely-known Harvard Law School lawyer
Archibald Cox, who had been fired by
Nixon in the "Saturday Night Massacre.”
Tureen placed a call to Cox, and the
esteemed senior lawyer said “ m just
I’
terribly busy .. . but if you want to come
down and talk to me, that’ O.K.” Cox
s
decided to assist with the case, on
condition (he said jokingly) that the claims
exclude his wife's coastal property in
Maine. Tureen agreed, saying he too
owned land in Maine (in Perry).
The prominent law firm of Hogan and
Hartson donated time to the case.
Meanwhile, Longley hired the “
owner of
the Washington Redskins," lawyer E d­
ward Bennett Williams, io represent the
state’ interest. Williams dropped out of
s
the picture after he allegedly told Longley
the state wasn’ likely to win in a court
t
battle with Indians. (Later the state hired
former Nixon lawyer James D. St. Clair to

PORTLAND — Abigail 0. Winston,
account executive, has quit her financial
management post with the prestigious
firm of Merrill Lynch, in a flap about
providing training sessions for Penob­
scots.
Winston has worked for some time with
Penobscot Nation leaders, assisting and
advising in the handling of land claims
funds. When she sought training for tribal
officials through her firm, they reportedly
rejected the request.
So Winston, taking Penobscot accounts
with her, switched to another widely
known investment firm, that of Kidder
Peabody.

Two Indian papers
set rates
Two Indian newspapers. The Native
Nevadan, and Rawhide Press, announced
in November issues the loss of federal
subsidy funds and the start of paid sub­
scriptions.
The Native Nevadan, published by the
state’inter-tribal council, will charge $10
s
per year “
effective immediately.”Editor
Arline Fisher said, “ a sufficient number
If
of paying subscribers — probably close to
5,000 — are not committed by Feb. 1, the
paper will fail.”Established in 1964, the
paper has a current circulation of about
6,000. Fisher described the paper as “
the
only source for comprehensive Indian
news in the state." Rawhide Press,
published by the Spokane Tribe of
Washington, announced a new editor as
well as a new subscription policy. Barbara
Reutlinger, who started at the paper in
1972, quit her job Nov. 20.
She has been replaced by Mary Wynne,
a Pawnee who joined the staff last spring.
In a farewell editorial, Reutlinger com­
mented on the growth of the Indian press.
“ years ago there was just a sprinkling
Ten
of Indian publications, mostly newsletters.
Many of them stooped to yellow jour­
nalism; biased articles that carried only
one point of view and stretched the facts.
Most of them died. Today there are
hundreds of professional Indian publi­
cations, plus radio and television stations
broadcasting Indian news on a regular
basis

Another turning point, frought with
fear, involved State vs. Dana, in which
Allen J. Sockabasin and Albert C. Dana of
Indian Township challenged the state’
s
right to prosecute them for arson. They
claimed they resided in Indian territory,
and therefore were not subject to state
law.
“ was scared to death of it,”Tureen
I
said about the case. But the Maine
Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Socka­
basin and Dana w ere indeed on Indian
territory, and subject to federal, not state
criminal law.
If the decision had gone the other way,
the claims could have been a lost cause. As
it was, the Dana decision was “ tre­
a
mendous blow to the State of Maine,"
Tureen said.
Only four days prior to the state
supreme court ruling, the U.S. Supreme
Court said in an opinion on the Blackbird
Bend case (involving western Indians),
that the Nonintercourse Act applied to the
1834 Indian Act . . . in other words to
western states. “
These two decisions
created a tension," Tureen said.
“
What this did was lead to serious
negotiations,” he added. Negotiations
occur when the stakes are high, and when
neither side is sure of the outcome," he
said.
As the U.S. Supreme Court got ready to
sit down, a story was leaked to the
Washington Post about an out-of-court
settlement being reached with Maine
Indians — thus putting the justices off the
scent of the Maine case.
The negotiated $81.5 million joint tribal
settlement was hustled through referen­
dum votes on the three reservations,
votes in both chambers of the state legis­
lature, and finally to the halls of Congress,
where the House and Senate approved the
package, and President Carter signed it
into law, Oct. 10,1980. The next month he
was voted out of office, and a conservative
president was elected who might never
have agreed to a federal settlement with
2,000 Indians in Maine: one that provided
for purchase of 300,000 acres of land at fair
market value. It is the largest single
Indian settlement in the history of the
United States.
“ were awfully lucky,”Tureen said.
We

CAN’ FIND A JOB?
T

Try the

JOB CORPS
Would you like to be trained as a ...
Bookkeeper
Secretary/Stenographer
Clerk Typist
Nursing Assistant
If you are 16 to 21 and not in school,
the Penobscot Job Corps Center has
training programs which may be of
interest to you.
The Penobscot Job Corps Center
provides all trainees with a place to
live, meals, health care and a cash
monthly stipend while you learn. And
when you finish, we’ also help you
ll
find a job.
SOUND GOOD?
IT IS GOOD.
ASK FOR JOB CORPS
—in the Portland area—775-7225
—in the Auburn area—786-4190
—in the Bangor area—947-0755
—or toll free anywhere in Maine
at 1-800-432-7307
ASK FOR
JOB CORPS RECRUITMENT

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

Page'

Holistic concepts
promote Indian health

NET WORK — Dennis Pehrson attaches a new net to the hoop at Indian Island
Community Building, while Recreation Director Red Bartlett looks on . . . and looks
forward to a good season.

'Bury My Heart' to be TV series
SEATTLE — Production of the televi­
all television rights in and to the literary
sion mini-series “
Bury My Heart At
work “
Bury My Heart At Wounded
Wounded Knee”is one major step closer
Knee.”
to reality.
Those rights, said Weigel, include the
Evergreen Foundation Films, Inc.,
right to produce, distribute and broadcast
(EFFI), of Seattle, Washington, has won a
a television mini-series based on that
favorable court ruling, upholding the
literary work.
company’ claim to the TV rights to the
s
That’ what EFFI will do, beginning in
s
literary work, “
Bury My Heart At
the next few weeks. The first order of
Wounded Knee," written by Dee Brown.
business will be a treatment or “
bible,”
The book, which the author describes as a
according to Jim Thebaut, president of
“
history of the American W est from the
EFFI and project producer, who said he is
viewpoint of the American Indian,”was a
relieved the year-long delay on the project
best seller in 1971.
is over. Thebaut said he is looking forward
EFFI’ claim had been challenged by
s
to, “
lots of hard work that will ultimately
the original owner of those rights. How­
result in a truly rewarding mini-series for
ever, EFFI contended those rights legally television viewers around the world," a
reverted back to Brown at the end of five
press release said.
years, and that Brown's subsequent sale
“
For the first time, the true history of
of television rights to EFFI in 1979 was
the American W est will be presented in a
legal and proper. The court ruled in favor
very honest, comprehensive manner,"
of EFFI.
Thebaut said. “ think one of the most sig­
I
Recently U.S. District Court Judge
nificant reasons that this project can do so
Stanley Weigel, presiding in San Fran­
much good is that until a country deals
cisco, ruled: “ v erg ree n Foundation
E
with its past, it can’really come to grips
t
Films, Inc., owns and enjoys quiet title to
with its future.”

MAIL TO WABANAKI ALLIANCE, 95 MAIN STREET, ORONO, MAINE 04473
W ABANAKI ALLIANCE SU B SC R IP T IO N FORM
(Make checks payable to Wabanaki Alliance)

Name

1 EN CLOSE:
j$5 for one year
... .___ |(Individual^-U.S.)
1
| f$6 for one year
i___ 1
(Canada)

Street

City/Town and State .

j $10 for one year
1__ j (Institutional rate)
_
Zip Code

1 ‘
---

INDIAN ISLAND — “ believe at the
We
health center that the holistic approach is
the way to go, and that the preventive
approach is the way to go."
That’ the philosophy of John Jeffers,
s
medical social worker at the Penobscot
D epartm ent o f H ealth and Human
Services.
Jeffers, a Virginia native, has been on
the job one year, and is excited about it.
“
We're all working as a team here,”he
said, and with weekly meetings to discuss
problems and plans, "it’getting better all
s
the time.”
An individual can remain in far better
health by taking care of himself or herself
to start, with, rather than treating
illnesses after they set in. Jeffers would
like to see tribal members make physical
and mental health top priority. He points
out that a person's well-being and effec­
tiveness in work and life depend on good
health.
Jeffers hesitates to state how many
patients he sees regularly, stating that
quantity is only one measure of his work.
He said he averages six persons per week.
He will treat anybody within the tribe
regardless of age, but his preference is to
work with an entire family. It’ all part of
s
the holistic approach.
“
Holism" is defined by the dictionary as
meaning a philosophy in which the
“
whole" has an importance greater than
the “
sum of the parts.”
Jeffers said he holds "such a full range
of responsibilities that unlike other social
workers in other agencies, I never feel
pigeon-holed.”
The job, he said, “
gives me a chance to
use my skills as a community organizer, a
group worker and a counselor.
“ gives us a chance to deal with the
It
people who com e into the clinic in a
holistic way.” Jeffers said he tries to

consider clients from a medical, mental
health, spiritual and nutritional point of
view.
Jeffers is a graduate of Virginia
Commonwealth University, with a BS in
psychology and an MS in rehabilitation
counseling. He is currently studying for
his masters in social work, at University
of Connecticut. He has spent more than
five years as a psychiatric social worker
and assistant clinic supervisor at a
Virginia community mental health center.
He is married to the former Nancy
Mathieson of Rockland, and the couple has
a seven-month-old boy, Matthew Dagan.
Jeffers says, “ love the people here. I
I
know what Sister Helen (McKeough,
principal of the Island school) means when
she says she loves the people here.”

Rights respected
NEW YORK — New York State gave
795 acres of land to the Seneca Indian
Nation in exchange for 795 acres of
reservation land needed by the state to
complete the last segment of the Southern
Tier Expressway.
For the Senecas, the trade was sweeten­
ed by a cash settlement of approximately
$500,000. In addition, for the first time
since the early 1800s, the two parties
negotiated as equal sovereigns — after a
Federal judge ruled in 1976 that the state
could not condemn reservation land for
highway purposes.
Following this court ruling the Senecas
told the state that they would not
negotiate with the state for the needed
right of way until there was a commitment
not to reduce the size of the Indian land
areas.

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

tJ
=

Equal Housing

OPPORTUNITY

Owned Homes For Sale
in Washington County
These homes are available to veterans or
non-veterans without preference.
Main Street, Baring
$26,800.
9 Academy Street, Calais
25.900.
12 Beech Street, Calais
21,500.
8 Chapel Street, Calais
12,500.
1 Temperance Street, Calais
1
26,000.
Summer Street, Calais
19.000.
Route #1—Houlton Road, Woodland 27,500.
31 Chapel Street, Calais
19,000.
FINANCED FOR 30 YEARS BY VA

BEING
TRANSFERRED?
Contact the VA for
information about
properties available
throughout the State.

NO DOWN PAYMENTS REQUIRED
SE E YOUR LOCAL
REAL ESTA TE BROKER

All VA financed
A t p re v a ilin g in te re s t rates

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
LOAN GUARANTY DIVISION
TOGUS, MAINE 04330
Tel. 207-623-8411 Ext. 433

Page 8

Wabanaki Alliance January 1982

Flashback

news notes
Loring hired
as paralegal
INDIAN ISLAND — Donna Loring,
former executive director of Central
Maine Indian Association, has been hired
as a paralegal with Penobscot Nation
tribal court.
A Penobscot tribal member and Viet­
nam veteran, Loring will work with Mary
LaChance, also a paralegal, under super­
vision of Dorothy Foster, court clerk.
Loring was hired by tribal Judge Andrew
Mead, a Bangor lawyer.
She is a resident of Old Town.

Arcade opens
INDIAN ISLAND - The Arcade, a
coin-operated game room for the younger
set, has opened here for business on River
Road.
Ernest Goslin installed equipment for
the Arcade in his former moccasin shop.
Light refreshments are available to cus­
tomers.
Goslin was previously employed in
maintenance at the Community Building,
and worked with the Indian Island Bingo
Committee.

New citizen

New arrival
On the march
Penobscots in ceremonial dress march down North Main Street, Old Town, in early
times, as depicted in this post card lent by Rose Cronk of Indian Island.

Dr. Welch broke IHS rules
INDIAN ISLAND - Dr. Fenn H.
Welch, who recently resigned as tribal
dentist here, apparently violated federal
guidelines by doing outside work.
Wabanaki Alliance learned of the
alleged violations through conversations
with several sources who w ere close to the
former Indian Health Service (IHS)
dentist, who quit his job to take a post at

Obituaries
VIRGIE M. S. JOHNSON
ROBBINSTON - Virgie M. S. Johnson.
66, died Nov. 18, 1981 as the result of an
automobile accident. She was born in
Robbinston, Jan. 8, 1915, the daughter of
John and Minnie Diffin Stanhope.
She was a graduate of Calais Academy,
class of 1934.
She was a member of the American
Legion Auxiliary in Calais. She was
employed for 35 years by the Maine
Department of Indian Affairs in Calais and
was a member of the Maine State Em­
ployees Association.
Survivors include one daughter, Mrs.
Ronald (Audrey) Geagan of Bangor; one
brother, Royden Stanhope of Robbinston;
one sister, Mrs. Clara Johnson of Robbin­
ston; two grandchildren, Todd and Sean
Geagan, both of Bangor; two dear friends,
William Jenkins of Robbinston and Marie
Brezovsky of Calais.
Funeral services were held at the ScottWilson Funeral Home, with the Rev.
Roland Chaffey officiating. Interment was
in the Robbinston Cemetery.

EDWIN M. MITCHELL
OLD TOWN - Edwin Matthew Mitchell,
of Indian Island, Old Town, died suddenly at
his home on Nov. 23, 1981. He was the
descendant of the late Henry Daylight
Mitchell and the late Edith (Ranco) Mitchell
of Indian Island; beloved husband of Sadie
(Ranco) Mitchell; father of Harvey Jon
Mitchell of Waterville. Christopher Brian
Mitchell of Indian Island and Kimball
Matthew Mitchell of Bangor; grandfather of
Kipling Jon and Kelly Jo Mitchell of
Waterville; brother of Helen (Mitchell)
Goslin of Indian Island; nephew of Leslie
Ranco of Wells and Dorothy (Ranco) Beatty
of Raymond. Edwin is also survived by
several nieces and nephews.
Donations in Edwin’ memory can be
s
made to American Heart Association,
Maine Affiliate Inc., P.O. Box 346, Augusta,
Maine 04330.

Oral Roberts University, an evangelical
school in Oklahoma.
Welch, 30, arrived at the Penobscot
health department in August 1980, succeding Dr. Stuart Corso, the first Indian
Island dentist who left for a job in
Connecticut. Corso has returned to Indian
Island and his former job, but is no longer
with the Indian Health Service.
Welch reportedly intended to “
moon­
light" on his IHS federal contract by
treating patients outside of the Indian
community he was hired to serve. In fact,
Welch treated only a few patients not
authorized by the Indian clinic, sources
said.
No action was taken regarding Welch’
s
alleged violation of IHS regulations.
Welch came to Indian Island from an
IHS position with Indians in Alton,
Oklahoma, where he said he initiated a
flouride program. He earned a degree in
dentistry from University of Detroit,
Michigan, in 1979.

Skitikuk . f »Outfitters

INDIAN TOWNSHIP - Donald Soctomah and Joyce Tomah are the proud
Passamaquoddy parents of a new baby
girl.
She is Tashina Louise Soctomah, born
on Thanksgiving Day 1981. At birth, at
Calais Regional Hospital, she weighed
nine pounds, four ounces, and measured
just over 20 inches tall. The father is
currently attending the University of
Maine at Orono.

Howland rooms
with Na’
swahegan
OLD TOWN — Howland Printing,
operated by Reginald Howland of Bradley
and formerly doing business in that town,
has moved into the offices of Na’
swahegan
copy center here.
Howland will share space with the
Penobscot family-owned business headed
up by Joseph Polchies, a Penobscot.
Howland has set up shop in the rear of the
rented Main Street building.

Hyde students visit Island
INDIAN ISLAND — A group of
students from the Hyde School, a prepara­
tory institution in Bath, visited the Pen­
obscot Nation recently. The group toured
the Island and presumably found the ex­
perience educational. Hyde is an ex­
pensive private school with a radical philo­
sophy that involves group psychological
confrontations and strick discipline. The
school accepts students who have had
difficulty coping with their families or
more traditional schools.

Specialists in wilderness travel.
Sales - Rentals - Guide Service
Home of Igas Island custom-made
packs and equipment

38 Main St.

O ron o

866-4878

Correction
ORONO — Theodore N. Mitchell should
have been correctly identified in a story in
last month’ Wabanaki Alliance as assist­
s
ant dean of student affairs for Indian
programs and services. The story de­
scribed the activities of the Indian student
club at University of Maine at Orono.

N a 's w a h e g a n , Inc.
76 NORTH MAIN ST.

OLD TOWN

827-6096

makes debut
INDIAN ISLAND — Erin Lee Baker is
the name of a healthy daughter born to
Nancy and Dan Baker of Indian Island,
Nov. 18. She weighed nine pounds, 11
ounces, at birth in a Bangor hospital. Erin
has a sister, Heather Marie.

Runner's widow
lives in shack
CHARLESTOWN. R.I. — The widow of
Ellison “
Tarzan”Brown, a Narragansett
Indian who twice won the Boston mara­
thon, lives in a small house with no con­
veniences.
Ethel Mae Brown, 62, built the house
with her husband in 1947. He died in 1975,
at age 61, leaving no money to her. So area
residents are now making plans to build
Ethel Mae a new house.
“
Tarzan to us was like Babe Ruth to
white people,”commented Harry Mars, a
Narragansett building contractor. Mars is
involved in the housebuilding project
which is at the fundraising stage.
The late runner got his nickname
because of his Johnny Weismuller ape
man call imitation.

HARDWARE
& GUN SHOP
TOM VICAIRE. Proprietor
The only Indian-owned hardware
business in the State of Maine
"W e’ eager to do business with people
re
in the Indian community,”
says Tom.
The store carries a full line of tools,
electrical and plumbing supplies, paint
and housewares. Also, a selection of fine
new and used guns.
See Our Garden Supplies and Tools
For all your hardware and
hunting needs, visit —
MATTAWAMKEAG HARDWARE &
GUN SHOP
and sample some good Indian hospitality
and service.

" It's a M ira c le ”

Use our “
Miracle Machine”

c d c c 148

Page

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