By Glenn Adams, Associated Press, 6/7/2001 17:32
The Senate enacted the bill Thursday and sent it to Gov. Angus King. Donna Loring, who represents the Penobscot Nation in the Legislature, said King has supported the bill all along and is expected to sign it.
The bill includes an Indian studies component in Maine studies, which are already a required part of the school curriculum. Students would be taught about tribal governments, Indian culture and history.
The bill ''can go a long way to clarify some of the issues that have caused so much tension'' between Indians and non-Indians, Chief Brenda Commander of the Houlton Band of Maliseets said.
Chief Richard Doyle of the Passamaquoddy Tribe said Thursday was ''a historic day for the tribes.''
The bill will ''help us to build understanding so we can go forward as a people, so the people of Maine will understand us and not be threatened by the things we do,'' Doyle added.
The bill does not specify a cost of the new requirement, but says local districts do not have to teach Native American studies immediately if they show the Education Department that they cannot afford the programs.
''We should be able to accomplish this with very little cost to the schools,'' Loring said.
A new commission will be formed to find and recommend educational materials to be used in Maine Indian studies. Loring said she hopes the Maine law will become a national model.
About 8,000 American Indians live in Maine.
The legislation was enacted a year after Maine lawmakers ordered the word ''squaw'' removed from mountains, waterways and other public sites. Indians consider the word offensive.
Earlier this session, the Legislature voted to remove directional signs bearing the word from the sides of Interstate 95 and the Maine Turnpike.