Sen. Talbot Ross appointed to commission to enhance rights of Wabanaki Nations

AUGUSTA – Last week, Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, was appointed to the newly created Working Group to Develop Recommendations for Extending Federal Beneficial Laws to the Wabanaki Nation by Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick. The group was established in legislation introduced by Sen. Talbot Ross and passed by the Legislature earlier this year.

The members of the Commission will be charged with studying, reviewing and analyzing the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and will make legislative recommendations on how to best extend federal laws and rights to the Wabanaki Nations. The Commission will make these recommendations with the support of the affected tribe(s) and the majority of the Commission’s members.

“I have spent a large portion of my career working to extend federal laws to the Wabanaki Nations in Maine and I feel this is a step in the right direction,” said Sen. Talbot Ross. “I am looking forward to working alongside my legislative colleagues and the tribal leaders in this work. I hope that this commission gets our state closer to securing tribal sovereignty for the Wabanaki Nations with the same federal protections as the other tribes across the country.”

LD 395, “Resolve, Establishing the Working Group to Develop Recommendations for Extending Federal Beneficial Laws to the Wabanaki Nations,” was signed by the Governor in April of this year, and aims to build upon the work that has already been done by those committed to achieving tribal sovereignty. 

Interested parties can sign up for notifications about meeting dates and additional information on the Commission here. 

Sen. Talbot Ross is serving her first term in the Maine Senate. She is the Senate chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee and serves as a member on the Judiciary Committee.

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