Penobscot Nation

The program brought together musicians and storytellers of Wabanaki, Congolese, and Puerto Rican heritage.

In this week's Pulse: The status of the tribal sovereignty bill and its political implications.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined the Penobscot Indian Nation's appeal in its fight with Maine over ownership and regulation of the tribe’s namesake river.

The bill would allow the Penobscot Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to enjoy most of the rights, power and privileges afforded to more than 500 other tribes nationwide under federal law.

The House approved the proposal 81-53 despite opposition from Hollywood Casino in Bangor and lawmakers who philosophically oppose the expansion of gaming in the state.

The Maine House gave initial approval Thursday to a bill to overhaul the fraught relationship between state government and tribal nations in the state. But supporters fell well short of the margin they would need to overcome a potential veto from Gov. Janet Mills.

Tribal leaders and their many supporters regard 2022 as a potential make-or-break year to dramatically re-write a 1980 agreement that they say has severely harmed their communities.

The court case pits the tribe against the state of Maine and upstream business interests over the rights to regulate water quality and fishing in the river.

A legacy of racist language and iconography lived on after Sockalexis, in the team that until recently was the Cleveland Indians — a name that the team and its fans claim was chosen to honor Sockalexis and Native people in general, but in reality had a far more complicated, racist origin.

Gov. Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have allowed Maine's four Native American tribes to offer casino gambling and other gaming activities on tribal lands, and tribal leaders are now hoping lawmakers might be able to override the veto.