A view of the Passamaquoddy Reservation at Pleasant Point in Maine. Photo by Ken Gallagher / Wikipedia
An elder of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point of Maine won't face charges in a politically-charged recall dispute on the reservation. Mary Creighton, 72, was arrested by tribal police in February after initiating recalls against Chief Fred Moore and Vice Chief Vera Francis. She was accused of forging signatures on the petition against Francis. Creighton denied the charges but was hauled off to jail anyway. By the time she got back home, she learned she was the target of a recall and was eventually removed from her seat on the council. The forgery case however, has been dropped, The Portland Press Herald reported. “What I was told briefly was that the state didn’t have witnesses or evidence to make a case,” Creighton told the paper. The paper last year ran a 29-chapter series titled Unsettled about political and legal struggles on the reservation. The tribe has never adopted a formal constitution and critics believe it undermines governance and reform efforts. Get the Story:
Prosecutors drop case against Passamaquoddy elder arrested while trying to recall tribal leaders (The Portland Press Herlad 8/6)
Elder challenges tribal leaders, is led off in handcuffs (The Portland Press Herald 7/26)
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