Rena Newell | |
---|---|
Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the Passamaquoddy Tribe | |
In office December 5, 2018 –October 1, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Matthew Dana |
Succeeded by | Aaron Dana |
Personal details | |
Political party | Independent |
Spouse | Leslie West |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Perry,Maine |
Alma mater | University of Maine (B.S.) |
Rena D. Newell is a Passamaquoddy politician who is serving as the incumbent chief of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik. Previously,she was the Passamaquoddy tribal representative to the Maine House of Representatives during the 129th and 130th legislatures. During her two terms,she was the only tribal representative in the Maine House.
Newell identifies as a political independent. [1] While in office,she served on the Judiciary Committee. [2] Since the Penobscot and Maliseet tribes have opted not to send representatives to the legislature as of 2017 and 2019,respectively,Newell was the only tribal representative as of the 129th and 130th Maine Legislatures. [3] Tribal representatives do not have a vote but can introduce and co-sponsor legislation relating to their tribes.
Newell advocated in favor of ending the use of Native Americans as mascots in Maine,and in May 2019 Governor Janet Mills signed a bill banning the use of Native American mascots in Maine public schools into law. Newell described the new law as a step toward "promoting cultural diversity and awareness”that would help Maine residents remember to treat each other as equals. [4] In January 2020,Newell stood beside Mills as Mills announced a posthumous pardon for long-time tribal attorney Don Gellers. [5]
In a December 2020 Maine Beacon piece highlighting positive events throughout the calendar year,Newell praised the formation of the Wabenaki Alliance,a group "dedicated to building political power and educating Mainers about the need for full recognition of tribal sovereignty." She explained that the policymaking,especially in the continued efforts of Maine's indigenous tribes to pursue tribal sovereignty,was a positive step for tribal relations with the state. [6]
Newell has supported tribal sovereignty legislation as a step toward securing clean water for Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation;or Sipayik in the Malecite-Passamaquoddy language,whose drinking water has frequently contained unsafe levels of trihalomethanes since 1974. [7] In February 2021,Newell introduced a proposal that would establish a permanent Wabanaki representative on the advisory council of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. [8] She also testified in support of LD 2,"An Act To Require the Inclusion of Racial Impact Statements in the Legislative Process" in Maine,stating “From flooding our land to build dams,to killing our fisheries to build roads or cutting our lumber to put in state coffers,the historical record shows Maine government has a long history of enacting laws without regard to the cost of such policy in the communities I stand to represent.” [9]
Newell was succeeded in the Maine House of Representatives by Aaron Dana. [10]
In the September 8th,2022 general election,Newell defeated incumbent chief Maggie Dana with 229 votes to Dana's 120 votes. Newell assumed office as chief of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik on October 1st,2022. [10]
Newell has a Bachelor of Science in business from the University of Maine at Machias and was the Passamaquoddy tribal education director. She has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. [2]
Passamaquoddy Indian Township Reservation is one of two Indian reservations of the federally recognized Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County,Maine,United States. The population was 760 at the 2020 census. Most of the 2,500 members of the tribe in the United States live in other parts of Maine. The reservation is located about 13 miles west-northwest of the city of Calais.
Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation is one of two reservations of the federally recognized Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County,Maine,United States. The population was 692 as of the 2020 census.
The Penobscot are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec.
The Passamaquoddy are a Native American/First Nations people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland,Peskotomuhkatikuk,straddles the Canadian province of New Brunswick and the U.S. state of Maine in a region called Dawnland. They are one of the constituent nations of the Wabanaki Confederacy.
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via plurality voting. The nonvoting members represent three of Maine's Native American tribes,though two tribes have declined to send representatives. Each voting member of the House represents around 9,000 citizens of the state. Because it is a part-time position,members of the Maine House of Representatives usually have outside employment as well. Members are limited to four consecutive terms of two years each,but may run again after two years.
Melvin Joseph Francis was the governor of the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation,one of two reservations in Maine of the Passamaquoddy Indian tribe,from 1980 until 1990 and again from 2002 until his death.
The Wabanaki Confederacy is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of five principal Eastern Algonquian nations:the Abenaki of St. Francis,Mi'kmaq,Wolastoqiyik,Passamaquoddy (Peskotomahkati) and Penobscot.
Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton,528 F.2d 370,was a landmark decision regarding aboriginal title in the United States. The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the Nonintercourse Act applied to the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot,non-federally-recognized Indian tribes,and established a trust relationship between those tribes and the federal government that the State of Maine could not terminate.
Donna M. Loring is a Penobscot author,broadcaster,and former Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs to Janet Mills,the governor of Maine.
Vera J. Francis is a Native American educator,environmental activist,and community planner for the Passamaquoddy people. She resides in Perry,Maine within the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation (Sipayik). Francis writes and speaks frequently about environmental issues and tribal politics in newspapers,at conferences and on websites.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians of Maine (HBMI) is a federally recognized tribe of Maliseet,whose land is along the Meduxnekeag River in Maine,United States. They are headquartered in Littleton,Maine,located in Aroostook County.
Concouguash,Christian name Francis Joseph Neptune,(1735–1834) was chief of the Passamaquoddy tribe during the American Revolutionary War. He succeeded his father,Bahgulwet,who died in 1778,and was succeeded by his own son,John Francis Neptune,in 1824. The term "chief" later became the word for governor. Becoming chief is passed along through family lineage and requires acceptance from the Passamaquoddies,Penobscots and Maliseet tribes. These three tribes share similar chief induction ceremonies,conducted simultaneously with eyewitnesses from each tribe present.
Donald Soctomah is a Native American author,filmmaker,historian,and politician. He serves as the tribal historic preservation officer for the Passamaquoddy tribe,where he works with both the U.S. and Canadian governments on the protection of culturally significant sites,artifacts and knowledge. Soctomah has written several books about Passamaquoddy history,as well as a children's book,Remember Me:Tomah Joseph's Gift to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and The Canoe Maker.
Lewis Mitchell,a Native American member of the Maine State Legislature in the late 1800s into the early 1900s,is known for his advocacy of the Passamaquoddy people and his work on a plethora of writings in the Passamaquoddy language,of which only some have been preserved. Although he was Passamaquoddy,he was widely versed in Wabanaki tradition,as Wabanaki was the overall surrounding language and more general culture of not just Maine,but the Canadian and New England area,home to several indigenous tribes during this time period.
The Maine Indian Newsletter was a monthly newsletter published independently from 1966 to 1972 in Gardiner,Maine and Freeport,Maine. While the exact address is not listed,the office was on Pine Street in Freeport. All of the articles archived by Dawnland Voices have Pine Street listed as the place to send submissions and money.
The Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission,also known as the MWTRC,was a commission looking at events relating to Wabanaki children and families from 1978,when the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed,until now. The Commission was officially established on February 12,2012 and issued its final report on June 14,2015. The MWTRC's mandate was to find Truth,Healing,and Change by giving the Wabanaki people and others involved within the Maine Child Welfare System a place to voice their stories and experiences. The final report addressed findings made by the commission and provided recommendations to improve compliance with the ICWA.
Maulian Bryant is a Penobscot activist and political figure. A former member of the Penobscot Nation Tribal Council,she was appointed the Penobscot Nation's first tribal ambassador in 2017 and continued in that role until 2024. In September of that year,she accepted a position as executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance,representing the four Indigenous Nations in Maine.
Molly Neptune Parker was an American basket weaver. She became well known for her artistry,with her works selling for thousands of dollars. As a co-founder and president of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance,she tutored young people in the traditional craft and also educated four generations of her own family. She was also the first woman lieutenant governor of Indian Township,one of the two governing bodies of the Passamaquoddy tribe.
Heidi Hilgartner Sampson is an American politician and anti-vaccine activist. A member of the Republican Party,she has served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives since 2016,representing the 136th district since 2022.
The Cherokee delegate to the United States House of Representatives is an office established via the Treaty of New Echota in 1835. The office was intended to represent the Cherokee people and was instrumental in negotiations of land transfer and sovereignty in the Treaty. The office went vacant until 2019,with the appointment of Kimberly Teehee of the Cherokee Nation. Teehee and tribal leadership attempted to get her seated in the 116th and 117th United States Congresses. In 2021,the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians designated their own delegate,lawyer Victoria Holland.