State Power and the Passamaquoddy Tribe: "A Gross National Hypocrisy"?

Because of their strategic location on the sparsely settled Canadian border, the Passamaquoddy Indians were of great importance in the American Revolution, and played a decisive role in securing eastern Maine for the United States. As soon as the hostilities had ended, however, the federal government promptly forgot about these Indian allies in what is now the State of Maine and, whether intentionally or not, left the Passamaquoddy Tribe in its dealings with the dominant society to the mercy of Massachusetts and, after 1820, Maine. The Passamaquoddy Tribe is a relatively small one, but there are approximately 120,000 other tribal Indians, mostly residing in the Eastern United States, who also have been ignored by the federal government. As a result, these Indians are denied services which the federal government provides for Indians, and are prevented from invoking the protections provided by federal Indian law. In analyzing the validity of the dichotomy between federal and state Indians, this article examines the effects, and questions the possible sources, of Maine's power to deal with the Passamaquoddy Tribe exclusive of the federal government.