Passamaquoddy tribal leaders said Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) threatened to withdraw support for Indian issues in an ongoing dispute over elver fishing in the state.

LePage called tribal leaders on Monday to discuss the dispute. Newell Lewey, a council member for the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, said the governor was “loud, enraged and demanding.”

“He’s going to try to hold us hostage, that’s what he’s going to do,” Lewey told The Bangor Daily News. “I was in there. I heard it. I heard his tone. There was no mistake.”

Lewey said LePage specifically mentioned the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The governor created the commission to examine Indian child welfare issues.

LePage signed a law that purports to limit Passamaquoddy fishermen to 200 licenses. The tribe has issue 575 elver fishing licenses.

“We have state law that is very clear and we have a Passamaquoddy Tribe that is knowingly issuing more than double the number of licenses that are allowed," Adrienne Bennett, the governor’s press secretary, told the paper.

Get the Story:
Tribe says LePage threatened Passamaquoddy over elvers during ‘enraged’ phone call (The Bangor Daily News 4/2)
Passamaquoddies say governor made threats over elvers (The Portland Press Herald 4/2)
Maine Elver License Dispute with Tribe Escalates (Maine Public Broadcasting Network 4/2)

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Seizure raises stakes in Passamaquoddy Tribe fishing dispute (4/1)