Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Tribal Government

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Ed Bassett

 

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Ed Bassett

Tribal Council Member

4 Year Term of Office ----- 10-1-10 through 9-30-14

A special election was held January 19, 2012 and Ed was elected to finish out the remainder of the term of a previous council member.

In the past Ed has served as the Tribal Lt. Chief and as a council member.

I want to thank all of you who supported me in last week's election. There are many critical issues and problems that tribal government is forced to deal with today. It is my hope that we will be able to work together to collectively find solutions. One common theme that I believe we all can agree on is that the tribe needs solid financial accountability and sound governance and management. From my point of view I see some critical things looming on the horizon. Because of a good blueberry crop last summer the tribe was blessed with a short grace period but the blueberry money won't last long at all and should be conserved and used wisely for the benefit of all.

Over the past 500 years the tribe has had to adapt to a changing and chaotic world. We went from living comfortably off the land to wars, plagues and famine to dependency and now struggling to survive in a foreign capitalistic society. Our survival depended and still depends on adaptation. In today's modern capitalistic society we should be looking for ways to bring financial stability to the tribe and work toward creating an environment that will bring prosperity and jobs to the community. However, with the lack of resources there are very few viable economic opportunities available for Sipayik today. I would like to believe that we have learned from some of the past failed economic experiments and grand schemes.  We can not afford to waste our precious resources on pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams anymore. The feedback I get from community people is that we should set our sights on affordable and realistic common sense economic ventures that fit within our Passamaquoddy values and not allow ourselves to be manipulated and ripped off by outsider special interest to dictate our future and leave us with a mess to clean up. I know things are tough and we desperately need change but we can't afford to be so desperate that we sell ourselves short to the benefit of the outsiders and burden our future generations with a legacy of bad deals, bad debt and bad contracts.

Tribal members have also expressed their deeply felt convictions about how tribal government has forgotten their historical and ancestral connection to the earth and the environment. Our ancestors suffered great hardships and sacrificed blood and life so that we can live today in our sacred homeland. Our homeland and the creatures within it have fed and sheltered us for thousands of years. With this in mind I believe we have the solemn responsibility to maintain our connections to the environment. This stewardship is vital because if this grand experiment of capitalism and modern technology ever collapses, as some of the medicine people have predicted, our future generations must be able and prepared to revert back to the Passamaquoddy ancestral ways in order to survive in our homeland. We must not perish. We must never forget where we came from so that we will know where we are going. Ultimately the decisions are yours to make. With your input and guidance I hope and strive to make good decisions for our future generations.

Kci-Woliwon
Ed Bassett
1-22-12

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Last modified:  04/20/2012 01:23:59 PM