Tribal-State Work Group studies issues with Maine Implementing Act

     The Tribal-State Work Group (TSWG) met Monday, Nov. 19, from 1:30 to 5 p.m. in the Cross State Office Building, Augusta.
 The Maine Legislature enacted LD 1263, Resolve, To Continue the Tribal-State Work Group, this past June, and it took effect as emergency legislation. It creates a process for the Wabanaki tribes and state of Maine to discuss differences in interpretation and understanding among the parties concerning the Maine Implementing Act (MIA), Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA) and Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act. 
    The Nov. 19 meeting was the third scheduled meeting of the group. Up to six meetings will be held. 
  The meeting featured presentations by John Paterson, former Maine Deputy Attorney General and principal negotiator for the state of Maine during the negotiation of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement, and Tim Woodcock, former staff person for the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Paterson and Woodcock provided state and federal perspectives on some of the most controversial issues pertaining to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement.
    People unable to attend the meeting in person were able to listen to the proceedings through the Maine Legislature’s Web site, http://janus.state.me.us/legis. 
    For more information, contact TSWG staff person John Dieffenbacher-Krall at 394-2045 or via e-mail at mitsced@midmaine.com.