Barry Dana, community activist and former chief of the Penobscot Nation, treated attendees of the fifth annual Native American Speaker Series to a lecture regarding social and environmental justice in light of Native American concerns last night in Pearson Hall.
Dana, who came to the event from the his tribe's reservation in Maine, addressed the crisis regarding local paper mill industries spilling hazardous chemicals into the Penobscot River, a valuable natural resource for members of the Penobscot Nation.
According to Dana, high levels of Dioxin, a chemical oftentimes used by paper mills in order to bind paper, are present in the river because the State of Maine refuses to adequately regulate the waste management of factories along the river.
While permits must be issued to local paper mills in order to deposit wastes, Dana reprimanded the Maine state government for failing to regulate imposed restrictions on the amount of chemicals filtered into the river.
"How come the paper companies can pollute above and beyond their permits multiple times a year and keep their licenses?" Dana asked.
Dana attributed the leniency given to the paper mill industries in part to factories' productions being intrinsic to a successful economy and thus integral to the political structure of the state's government.
"In Maine your strongest lobbyists are your paper mills. The fact is that the state government is run by the paper industry," Dana said.
In order to make amends to the environmental crisis, Dana and members of his tribe suggested "federal oversight," or the intervention of the federal government and federal agencies in issuing clearance to mills.
Members of the Penobscot tribe first turned to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help alleviate concerns regarding Dioxin levels. Dana associated high levels of this chemical with "higher than normal" rates of cancer among members of his tribe and those living along the river.
Together with the EPA, the Penobscot Nation procured a grant and constructed a lab along the river in order to chart the pollution of local factories.
According to Dana, researchers from the EPA discovered an "extremely high level" of Dioxin in a particular area and traced it to a local mill. Once informed of this, the state government of Maine sued the targeted paper mill company for $800,000 for breaching waste restrictions.
Dana said, however, that the same company received an $800,000 tax-rebate from the state government later that year.
Despite the setback, members of the Penobscot Nation continued to fight for clean water once the lab was established. Dana explained that the tribe sought federal intervention by the EPA in the issuing of waste management permits in the future.
In the midst of continued talks with the EPA, the Penobscot Nation was accused of having "back door meetings" with the EPA by the state government, who demanded that both parties reveal any documents regarding their conversations.
While the EPA complied with the order, the tribe refused to hand over papers, claiming that they were not a political subdivision of the state.
According to Dana, however, the state government said that as a result of the 1980 Settlement Act - a document signed by members of the tribe - the Penobscot Nation was a "political subdivision of Maine."
Dana strongly refuted this claim. He said that the document stipulated that tribe is a "political subdivision of the Penobscot Nation" and not the state.
"It's clear to me that when we are acting as a government, we are not a political subdivision of the State of Maine," Dana said.
Regardless of Dana's claim, a judge found Dana, the then-chief, in contempt of court for refusing to give the documents to the state. A month after having been elected as Chief of the Penobscot Nation, Dana was sentenced to time in prison - a term he never served.
After further deliberation, Dana said that the tribe decided to file an appeal to the ruling. Dana said, however, that the intent of the appeal was not to avoid a term in prison, but to further protect the river.
"The issue could not be simply whether or not the tribe is subject to the [1980 Settlement] Act - that this was about protecting the river," Dana said. "Were we, as a tribe, going to somehow empower the EPA to have the clout to come into Maine and tell the state to do the right thing?"
After further court rulings and defeats, the tribe made a bold move and handed the documents over to the state government at the steps of the state capital. While Dana said his tribe may have lost many court cases, they have ultimately "gained the respect" of the citizens of Maine as a result of their perseverance and concern for the river.
"People are learning that native people today deserve a fair shot at what is rightfully theirs," Dana said.
English Professor Elizabeth Ammons, American Studies Professor Joan Lester and English Professor Jeff Vanderwall organized the annual event funded by the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Diversity Fund.
Ammons said that the University has a "lot of work to do" in terms of Native American studies.
"None of the courses of Tufts that are taught about American Indian subject matter is at this time taught by a person that is his or herself Native," Ammons said. "I hope that we'll keep in mind that action begins at home and moves out as it strengthens itself."
The event attracted students and faculty as well as members of the Southeastern New England based-Wampanoag tribe, filling the lecture hall to near capacity.
