At the Save Passamaquoddy Bay conference on November 30th in Belfast, David Moses Bridges, left, and Gail Dana answered questions about the dealings of the tribal government and Quoddy Bay LLC. “. . . this small point of land is all we have left, we’re not giving it up.” — Gail Dana, Passamaquoddy tribal member

“This just is not the place for it . . . I can guarantee you we’re not going away and no damn way that we’re going to see an LNG terminal sitting down here at Gleasons Cove . . . we need to get back together as a community here, not as Americans or Canadians or Passamaquoddys but as a community . . .” — Arthur Mackay, Biologist, Director of St. Croix Estuary Project, Canada

  

  

Three Nations Oppose LNG
by Lynn Pussic

At a conference in Belfast on November 30th, members of Save Passamaquoddy Bay — A Three Nation Alliance (www.savepassamaquoddybay.org), consisting of citizens from the Passamaquoddy, United States and Canadian nations, met to voice their opposition to an LNG terminal on Passamaquoddy Tribal owned land at Gleason Cove on Pleasant Point in Maine.
   Each nation represented stated their concerns about the safety, environmental and economic issues that accompany any type of industrialization in a populated area. They all urge the state to immediately stop the plans of bringing an LNG site to the area or anywhere on the Maine coast.
Arthur Mackay, of Canada spoke of the ecological, environmental and economic loss that would occur if the Bay of Fundy were to become a travel route for LNG tankers.
   David Moses Bridges, member of the Passamaquoddy tribe, spoke of how the process that was taken by the tribal government wasn’t democratic, because off reservation tribal members were not allowed to vote on this issue even though their future and their families future is tied to that land.
   Gail Dana, a member of the Passamaquoddy tribe said their own traditions have been co-opted and set aside in this process by other interests. She assured the meeting participants that the Passamaquoddy community does not embrace LNG and they will take back control of the process. She went on to say, they will not give up the small amount of homeland they have left.
   Nancy Asante of Perry emphasized the Town of Perry’s Article 40 regarding the land of the proposed LNG site that the tribe purchased in 1986 from private owners. One of the provisions of Article 40 was that “any future commercial development” on the land “must be approved by the voters of said Town of Perry.” The Town of Perry selectmen were presented with a petition on November 29th signed by 255 Perry residents – “to convey our opposition to the Passamaquoddy Tribal Council and to have no further contact with tribal leaders or LNG representatives unless held in a public forum”. Average voter turnout for General Elections in Perry is around 300.
  All nine members representing the three nations answered questions for the attending audience.
   The Three Nation Alliance shared the same concern and outrage that information about the terminal isn’t being presented to the citizens of these nations in public forums.
   After leaving Belfast the group traveled to Augusta to present their concerns to the state government.