The following letter from leaders of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township was submitted to Indian Country Today in response to an article dated September 26.
Dear Editor:
We write to you today to correct the record on a recently published article in Indian Country Today entitled "Passamaquoddy Leaders Question Harper's Human Rights Judgement." We found the article to be misleading and to misconstrue the facts surrounding the Tribal Trust case recently settled by our Tribe. We cant to clarify that we were very happy with Kilpatrick Townsend's representation of the Tribe in the tribal trust case and were satisfied with the results of the case.
At no time during the case were our Tribal leaders pressured to settle the case by Mr. Harper or his colleagues at Kilpatrick Townsend. We were provided with very detailed periodic reports and made aware of the pros and cons of a potential settlement by our attorneys. The joint Tribal Council felt the settlement proposal was fair that it did not make sense for the Tribe to continue the litigation. Therefore in March 2012, the Joint Tribal Council officially approved the settlement and passed a tribal resolution indicating our support.
We also would like to make it clear that there was never any effort by Kilpatrick Townsend or our Tribal Council to hide or conceal legal fees or contingency agreements. Our contingency arrangement was established in 2007. We felt it was fair and the only option for our Tribe at the time. Without a contingency arrangement, we would not have been able to proceed with the case. We saw no reason to inquiry into what arrangements Kilpatrick Townsend had with other tribes. We also considered our arrangement to be confidential and we think it is likely other tribes did as well.
Our Tribal Council was very satisfied with the settlement and with the legal representation we received from Kilpatrick Townsend. We continue to work with them today on other legal matters.
We hope this letter corrects any misconceptions stemming from this article on the Passamaquoddy Tribe's position on the Tribal Trust Case or its counsel on the case.
We are very proud that our President has nominated the first Native American to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council. We are certain that Mr . Harper will do an outstanding job filing this role and promoting the human rights of all people as he has done for two decades with Native Americans.
Signed,
Joseph Socobasin, Chief
Clayton Sockabasin, Vice Chief
and
Elizabeth Neptune, former tribal council member (2004-2012) and designated liaison to Kilpatrick Townsend
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