SIPAYIK, Maine — On the Sipayik peninsula in Maine, Passamaquoddy tribal members are surrounded on three sides by water, and on all sides by reminders of their vulnerability to a changing climate.
They see it in a rising sea level that erodes beaches and drowns marshes.
They see it in their wastewater facility, which is at risk of a tidal flooding disaster.
They see it in the homes that can’t keep the weather out and residents who can’t afford their power bills.
And they see it in the collapse of ecosystems that have fed the Passamaquoddy people for generations.
For tribal members, it is not just a place they’ve called home for more than 10,000 years. It’s a place they’re striving hard to protect and prepare for what’s coming.
“That speaks to who we are, our namesake and what we’re about. It’s in our DNA. We’re fishers, we belong in this place,” said Sipayik resident Ralph Dana, 57, a tribal member who works as the aquatic restoration coordinator at the Sipayik Environmental Department.
Dana, a former Marine Corps private first class, game warden and tribal chief, has lived in Sipayik since he was 4 years old. He has watched Sipayik’s coastline give way to the rising sea and its fish disappear due to warming waters, a causeway and other infrastructure that has permanently altered the town’s ecosystem.
Fun fact about the tribes in Maine, because of an agreement made in the 1980 with the state and federal government they are legally subject to and not above state law and have the same rights as municipalities. To my knowledge they are the only tribes in the country subject to this.
While being treated like municipalities grants them many rights under Maine law, the tribes are constantly having to fight the state about a variety of issues.
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In far northeastern Maine, a Native community fights to adapt to climate change - ICT
https://ictnews.org/news/in-far-northeastern-maine-a-native-community-fights-to-adapt-to-climate-change/Full Article
Fun fact about the tribes in Maine, because of an agreement made in the 1980 with the state and federal government they are legally subject to and not above state law and have the same rights as municipalities. To my knowledge they are the only tribes in the country subject to this.
While being treated like municipalities grants them many rights under Maine law, the tribes are constantly having to fight the state about a variety of issues.