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Donations
Are Needed to Protect Passamaquoddy Bay
Environmental Justice & Indigenous Independence
400 years after Champlain sailed up the
St. Croix River, another “ship” is coming
in. Its impact threatens to be as deadly to the indigenous people of the
coastal Wabanaki region as small pox was to native people in 1600.
In response to the growing momentum for a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on tribal
land, Ntulankeyutmonen
Nkihtaqmikon has launched an ambitious campaign to educate
Tribal people and opinion leaders about the nature/scope of LNG, identify
interventions and solutions and organize for reform. We are a group of
Passamaquoddy people organized to:
ØStop the current efforts to
locate an LNG terminal on ancestral land and in the ancestral waters of
tumultuous Passamaquoddy and Fundy Bays
ØResist the usurpation of
Indigenous rights to cultural survival by a political economy;
ØExpose the deliberate
infliction on an Indigenous group (Passamaquoddy) conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
and
ØProtect the homeland against
environmental racism.
The
Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon seeks donations to legally defend
our right to organize a culturally appropriate response to the recent
“LNG” and “Quoddy LLC” proposal to process and store liquefied gas in
Passamaquoddy Territory. The Passamaquoddy Bay region is a
critical-cultural-heritage site, which deserves protection and advocacy.
Over the past year the controversial LNG terminal has been rejected by
communities up the coast from Harpswell to Searsport, and now it is
focused in on our homeland . It was only in June that plans to locate the
terminal in tribal territory were made public, and LNG operatives, who
include state and federal regulators and seasoned politicians, have
already galvanized support from Maine’s governor to bring LNG into this
small coastal village. It is important that the Passamaquoddy homeland be
protected and that efforts that jeopardize our cultural survival be banned
from our territory.
The growing control of our political process by
LNG/Quoddy LLC (a small number of unaccountable corporations), federal,
and state elites, and other misinformed elected officials undermine
indigenous human rights, religious freedom, ecological health, and the
economic viability of the region. LNG/Quoddy LLC’s agenda and influence is
clear; their message exemplifies environmental racism and degradation.
.
As lifelong members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe,
our aim is to:
ØDevelop and promote
sustainable, environmentally sound regional economic ventures and energy
projects,
ØProtect our sacred sites and
religious beliefs in Wonakomesuwok (little people); sites that
would be destroyed by this intrusion,
ØProtect Passamaquoddy Bay
through its designation as a heritage site,
ØPromote cultural restoration,
which is underway throughout our homeland, and
ØEmpower Native people to
resist genocide and environmental racism.
Our short-term goals include:
ØOrganize and educate
membership about the potential impact of the proposed LNG terminal on
Tribal land and of LNG sites in general;
ØEncourage advocacy for
healthy industries and lifestyles on many levels within the community and
bioregion;
ØEstablish a moratorium on
current efforts to situate the LNG on tribal lands so that inclusive
conversation and education can take place outside of the traumatic urgency
which is characterized by people’s relation to the subject at this time:
disaster is pending.
ØResearch and secure legal
representation (environmental/religious/human rights); and,
ØProvide a series of
environmental/spiritual leadership workshops conducted by traditional
elders/healers from throughout the Wabanaki region.
Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon
is challenging LNG’s and Quoddy LLC’s (including its proponents)
deliberate targeting of Passamaquoddy Bay and Passamaquoddy people, which
disproportionately harms Native people and has the potential of
permanently altering Passamaquoddy heritage, and their natural and
cultural resources including: fishes, potential ancestral burial grounds,
wilimaphaskil (sweet grass
lands), numerous other medicines, night sky, clean air, clam flats, etc.
The proposed site for the LNG terminal would prevent free access to
traditional and sacred sites, which includes the rocky shoreline that
currently serves as the home to our religious beliefs in Wonakomeswok (the
little people). ). The proposed site and port will essentially be
a site for “hazardous materials,” which is in direct opposition to
Passamaquoddy values. Because of its detrimental potentiality, it is our
stance that there is no such thing as the state of the art
fire/rescue/toxic-clean-up processes in Maine. It’s not even clear which
agencies (local or state) would have the responsibility of providing
emergency response.
Though the
local Tribal Government is entertaining an LNG terminal,
Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon’s position is that the Passamaquoddy
were not consulted; the State of Maine (under the cover of LNG) is
intruding upon Passamaquoddy traditional homeland and watersheds,
capitalizing on the dire economic conditions of Washington County, and
abrogating its own obligation to grow economy for its constituency. The
Passamaquoddy has sacrificed enough—we do not have to give up what little
land we have left. Though LNG proposes to obtain a 42-acre site via
a “50-year lease” at Sipayik (Pleasant Point, Passamaquoddy Reservation),
the average size of an LNG terminal import site is closer to 600-1000
acres. The reality is that if LNG does not situate its import terminal on
Tribal land, it can go somewhere else along Maine’s coastline.
Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon
is dedicated to preserving what is left of our
homeland and traditional watersheds – we stand by our treaties and we
oppose any further restriction/encumbrance on our hunting, fishing,
gathering, trade and travel within Passamaquoddy ancestral territory.
However, it’s not just our traditional ancestral land/waters that are
under assault, it’s our deepest cultural beliefs - our religion, which
help form our Passamaquddy sense of identity that is at risk of being
extinguished - genocide.
Though we have utilized our networks for moral
support, we lack the critical ingredient – money. LNG is here in Maine.
Its proponents include corporate and government interests. Passamaquoddy
participants have not included their own community members in forwarding
the LNG site on tribal lands.
Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon
needs your financial support to effectively resist LNG.
Ntulankeyutomen Nkihtaqmikon seeks to bring Indigenous voices to the fore
and to revitalize/promote a healthy debate about the inseparability of
indigenous, environmental, and cultural issues. Without effective
grassroots organizing in our community, Native people will surely suffer
the consequences of LNG, which threaten our human rights and religious
freedom.
In advance, we appreciate your wiliness to act on
behalf of humanity; kindly support indigenous independence by sending
dontations to: Ntulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon , Protect Passamaquoddy Bay ,
C/O The Commons, 51 Water Street, P.O. Box 255, Eastport, Maine 04631
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