Clayton Cleaves, interviewed by David Slagger

3692 Clayton Cleaves, interviewed by David Slagger, March 15, 2011. Cleaves, Sakom of Pleasant Point Reservation, Passamaquoddy, talks about the 1980 Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act: his use of the term Sakom instead of Governor; his early education; move to Massachusetts and work as cab driver and welder; his return to Maine and work for the New England Telephone Company; graduation from UMaine; appointed Director Pleasant Point Housing Authority from 1974 to 1981; 1978 became state representative to the Maine legislature; describes the environment of the tribal people on the Maine reservations prior to 1980; misinterpretation of the Settlement Act; gambling and casinos; Native American Rights Fund needs to look at the Settlement Act; tribes to be treated like municipalities; right to self-determination; sovereign rights; porpoise hunting and crossing the United States/Canada border to test sovereign rights; tribal members reside on trust land which is the responsibility of the Federal Government, not the State of Maine; tribes need to exercise their sovereignty by becoming independent and developing economic resources; Tribal Governors Incorporated; his agenda is Native American rather than just Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point; want to bring together all the tribes in strategy sessions; development of tribal number plate for vehicles; use of the belief in the power of the eagle feather when he was director of Health Care Services; Implementing Act needs to be revisited by the Department of the Interior influenced by tribal chiefs, tribal Sakoms, and the Native American Rights Fund; Indian land cannot be sold without the consent of Congress. Text: 16 pp. transcript. RESTRICTED. Recordings: mfc_na3692_cd2225_01 - mfc_na3692_cd2225_08 40 minutes