May 5, 2015 — A group of Congress members has filed a brief in federal court backing the Penobscot Indian Nation’s lawsuit against the State of Maine over hunting and fishing rights in the Penobscot River.
It is almost certainly the first time members of Congress have entered a lawsuit in support of an Indian nation’s struggle for its sovereign rights against a state and, therefore, sets a precedent.
Theamici curiae, or friends of the court, brief was filed April 29 in federal district court in Maine by five members of theCongressional Native American Caucus:Betty McCollum(D-MN), co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus withTom Cole(R-OK), a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation;Raúl M. Grijalva, (D-AZ), vice chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus;Ron Kind(D-WI), vice chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus; andBen Ray Luján(D-NM), vice chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus.