An effort to draft the leadership of the Wabanaki Alliance into taking a position on the war in Gaza is raising some eyebrows not only among those who believe its inappropriate for the assembly of Native American tribes to choose sides in the Mideast, but also among Maine politicians whose images, they say, are being used to misrepresent their positions.
In a change.org petition that seeks to pressure Wabanaki leadership to show their “solidarity with Palestine,” organizers used a 2023 photo depicting three Republican lawmakers who most likely do not back such an initiative.
Former Rep. John Andrews, pictured in the center, said the photo was taken at a ceremony connected to getting federal benefits for the tribes. The Maine Wire also reached out to both House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) and Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) to ask if it fairly represents their position on whether Wabanaki leadership should back Palestine.
“That sounds idiotic,” Rep. Faulkingham replied when The Maine Wire informed him how the image was being used to promote a pressure campaign on Wabanaki leaders.
Sen. Bennett similarly refuted that the image the petition circulators are using should in any way connote his support for the cause.
“I don’t know about the petition,” he said. “I didn’t sign it and I don’t support it.”
Reading the petition text, it is doubly improbable that any of those three would align themselves with its mission:
“Please let the Palestinian genocide be the straw that broke the camels back! Let the cries of the children in Gaza radicalize you to your core! Sign the petition and send letters to state and tribal officials to publicly stand in solidarity with Palestine!!! Indigenous people have more reach now more than ever in the history of colonization with social media!!!” the petition’s call to action reads.
“We must utilize everything and mobilize everyone to speak up for Palestine! We ask tribal leadership to take a stance against the colonial state in a way like never before! We do this because a free Palestine means a sovereign Wabanaki confederacy. Landback for us is the same for them! FREE PALESTINE!!!!” the statement below the photo continues.
Initiated two weeks after Hamas militants massacred Israel youth at a concert before taking 250 hostages and precipitating the current conflict with Israel, the petition has to date garnered just under 500 signatures. It was organized by an individual identifying themselves as ‘TheArtist Mitchell’ in Portland. A parallel effort on Instagram appears to have a similar number of supporters.
Both campaigns assert that Native Americans and Palestinians share similar causes, having been “occupied” and “colonized” by oppressors. The problem with this argument is that Israel sits on land once called Judea thousands of years before the British named the area the Palestinian territory in 1921.
When considering these facts, Native Americans may choose to reject the false parallel between their history and that of the Palestinians. The Maine Wire reached out to Wabanaki political leaders about this campaign and are waiting for a response.
