Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Announces Commitment to Tribal Sovereignty Bill on Day One
Secretary Bellows calls on all gubernatorial nominees to pledge to introduce a bill to grant full tribal sovereignty to the Wabanaki Nations on day one of their administrations.
Augusta – Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows today announced a public commitment to passing tribal sovereignty.
“I’ve told the Chiefs, and I’m proud to say it publicly: it is long past time that we pass a tribal sovereignty bill in Maine and fulfill our legal obligations to the Wabanaki people. When elected, I’ll work with the chiefs to draft legislation that they would be happy with and will introduce it as a governor’s bill on day one. This issue is not partisan and I hope that all of my opponents will join me in making this commitment,” said Secretary Shenna Bellows.
Secretary Bellows has a long history championing tribal sovereignty, first at the ACLU and then as a state senator.
Secretary Shenna Bellows received the Tribal Champion Award from the Wabanaki Alliance in 2020 [Legistorm bio] "These are the legislators who worked in concert with the tribes to achieve the tribes’ legislative goals. These legislators went above and beyond to ensure fairness for the tribes in Maine by fighting for legislation to provide same or similar sovereignty as the nearly 500 other tribes across America. To these legislators we say – Woliwon (thank you)." [Wabanaki Alliance 129th Legislative Scorecard]
2020 quote on sovereignty bills: "I think we have an opportunity to rectify an historic wrong," Bellows said, "and to try to recognize Maine's tribes in the way that tribes in other states are recognized." [MPR]
From a 2022 story on her goals as Secretary of State for 2023-2024: "In addition, Bellows has pursued improvements within the state archive system, which is also under the jurisdiction of the secretary of state. One initiative on that front has been reaching out to the tribal historic preservation officers with the goal of collaborating more closely with the Wabanaki and being thoughtful about how to highlight Maine’s history, even the painful aspects."
As Secretary of State, her office supported legislation to restore tribal treaty language to printed copies of the Maine Constitution and Shenna testified in support of the bill
2024: Supported creation of Office of Tribal State Affairs housed in Department of Secretary of State [Spectrum News]
