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Maulian Bryant is the executive director of the alliance and a citizen of the Penobscot Nation.
One of the first things I worked on as the Penobscot Nation tribal ambassador was the bill to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in Wabanaki homelands now called Maine. Former state Rep. Ben Collings sponsored this legislation and when it was signed into law in April 2019 it was the result of years of activism, education, and organizing by Wabanaki people and our supporters.
Making this change was a necessary step in the healing of the tribal state relationship marred by a lack of respect for Wabanaki