The Obama administration is siding with the Penobscot Nation in a lawsuit against the state of Maine.

The tribe sued the state in August 2012 to clarify jurisdiction over a 55-mile stretch of the Penobscot River. The Department of Justice has filed a motion to intervene in the case to enforce its trust obligations to the tribe.

The tribe is seeking to prevent state authorities from policing the river or citing members for subsistence fishing. The state has not recognized the tribe's jurisdiction on the Penobscot.

"As a part of its trust obligations to the [Penobscot] Nation, the United States has a legal interest in protecting the nation's reservation borders and in ensuring that the nation can fully exercise its sovereign powers without improper interference from the state and others," DOJ wrote in its motion.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Penobscot Nation v. Schneider.

Get the Story:
Feds join tribe in lawsuit against Maine (Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting 8/22)
Federal government seeks to join Maine tribal lawsuit (The Bangor Daily News 8/22)

Related Stories:
Penobscot Nation sues state to clarify jurisdiction on waters (08/23)