A recent letter to the editor claimed that the Wabanaki Alliance is “not the voice of the Penobscot Nation.” That’s a serious misunderstanding — one that needs to be addressed plainly.

The Wabanaki Alliance was formed in 2020 by the elected leaders of the four federally recognized Wabanaki tribes in Maine, including the Penobscot Nation. It was created because for too long, our voices have been dismissed, distorted or divided — especially when we challenge the status quo of state-tribal relations in Maine. The Alliance is not a replacement for tribal governments. It is an advocacy coalition led by the tribes themselves — by our chiefs, our ambassadors and our elected representatives — people who are directly accountable to our Nations.

I serve as vice president of the Alliance. Chief Kirk Francis serves on the advisory board. We are not figureheads. We are Penobscot citizens who have held leadership roles for decades. We helped form this organization precisely to give voice to the very sovereignty this letter claims to defend.

To say the Alliance “presents itself as the voice of the Penobscot Nation” is not only wrong — it erases the fact that Penobscot leadership is part of the Alliance. Our Nation helped build it. We continue to shape its direction. And we do so in coordination with the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Mi’kmaq Nations because we know that unity is power — and that divided, we are easier to ignore.

Sovereignty is not just a concept — it’s a practice. It includes the right to form coalitions, to build political strength and to speak with collective resolve when confronting laws that have held us back. The 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act placed Wabanaki tribes under a separate and unequal system. The Alliance works to change that, not by replacing our tribal governments, but by advocating for them — through public education, legislative engagement and coalition-building with people across Maine.

It’s true that not every Penobscot citizen agrees with every position the Alliance takes. That’s democracy. Disagreement is not exclusion. But undermining a tribally led coalition because some individuals take issue with its approach is not helpful. We don’t need to agree on every tactic to support the shared goal of restoring our inherent rights.

Our voices have been silenced for generations by a political system designed to minimize our influence. The Alliance is one of the few mechanisms we have built to change that reality. It is transparent in its purpose, accountable to tribal leadership and grounded in the belief that we are stronger together. Those who suggest otherwise risk giving comfort to the very systems that have long sought to keep us divided and powerless.

We don’t speak for anyone who doesn’t want to be spoken for. But make no mistake: the Wabanaki Alliance does reflect the voices of those who built it — including Penobscot leadership, past and present.

To suggest otherwise does not support tribal sovereignty. It undermines it — and plays directly into the hands of those who benefit from our disunity.