As Governor Paul LePage (R) swore in the newest member of Maine's 125th Legislature in the Cabinet room at the State House Wednesday morning, a number of tribal representatives looked on. David Slagger - Maine's first ever Maliseet legislator - is dressed in a hand-beaded tribal vest - especially made for this week's event. It's adorned with bear claws and sea shells. On the back is a hand-stitched tribal symbol, depicting porcupine quills.
"This is such an exciting day. It's a day that's long overdue, really," said Brenda Commander, chief of the Houlton band of Maliseets. "I mean we've waited all these years to have a voice here in the State House and the legislature, and now today we finally have our representative and it's historic for us."
The Houlton Band of Maliseets was formally recognized as a tribe by the US government in 1980 and in 2010 it was authorized to send a representative to the Legislature. The tribe part of the larger Maliseet Nation of New Brunswick Canada.
A number of issues that Maine lawmakers discuss, such as gambling and the use of Indian place names, are of interest to the tribe. But, David Slagger said, as a new member of the legislature, he will initially be mostly watching, listening and getting to know colleagues. One measure that he does plan to get behind however is a proposal to crack down on people impersonating native Americans in order to sell arts and crafts products.
"People could put 'Indian-made' or give the impression that it's Indian hand-made and it's always been a selling tool to have something that's Indian hand-made," Slagger said. He said that while there is a federal Indian arts and crafts law, a lot of art is still passed off as tribal when it isn't. He wants to introduce a system whereby the artists authenticate their products with tribal ID numbers.
"You can't go out and impersonate something to make revenue - that's not the way it works. And it's offensive to the tribes, selling our name and our products," said Slagger.
Slagger, who's a doctoral student at the University of Maine, is joined at the State House by representatives of Maine's two biggest tribes, the Passamaquoddy and the Penobscot nation.
Wayne Mitchell has represented the Penobscots in the legislature for four years. He's welcomed the expansion in the size of Maine's tribal delegation.
Wayne Mitchell: "We've worked on this for several years now and it's finally good to see it come to fruition." Tom Porter: "Why do you think it's so important?" WM: "It's important for them to be able to speak for themselves. Every tribe is unique, every tribe has unique cultural practices. And I think it's important for them to be able to have that voice."
Maine's tribal legislators are selected by their tribes. They have similar rights to elected lawmakers in that they can propose bills, sit on committees and make speeches.. But unlike popularly elected lawmakers, they cannot vote.
Nevertheless, John Dieffenbacher-Krall said Maine is unique in giving its tribes this kind of political voice. He's executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal States Commission.
"Maine is number one," said Dieffenbacher-Krall. "Maine is the only state with the United States that has this position of tribal representatives to the legislature."
Apart from the Passamaquoddy, the Penobscot and the Maliseet, Maine is home to members of two other tribes: the Abenaki and the Micmac. All five tribes are part of a larger group called the Wabanaki Confederacy, which means people of the 'dawn land,' a reference to the fact that they're the first to see the sun come up in the East.