LEWISTON — The Great Falls Forum on Thursday, Nov. 19, will feature Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation presenting “Penobscot Tribal Sovereignty and the Maine Environment.”

It will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in Callahan Hall at the Lewiston Public Library.

This year has not been a good one for relations between the state of Maine and its native American tribes. In April, Gov. Paul LePage revoked an executive order aimed at improving cooperation between the state and Maine’s four recognized tribes. In May, the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes responded by withdrawing their representatives from the Maine Legislature.

In addition, tribal disputes have gone beyond the governor’s office and have included several run-ins with Maine Attorney General Janet Mills. These latter disagreements have included a proposed bill allowing the tribes to prosecute nonmembers for domestic violence in their courts and Mills’ support of the governor’s position regarding sustenance fishing rights and the lucrative elver fishery in Maine.

Chief Francis is expected to address these and other environmental issues in his talk Thursday.

Francis was born and raised on Indian Island in the cultural and geographic heart of the Penobscot Nation. In September 2014 he was elected to his fourth consecutive term as chief of the Penobscots, a position that he has held since 2006.

The tribe has 2,300 members and more than 100,000 acres of land. 

Admission is free to all forum events and no reservations are required. Bring a bag lunch. Coffee, tea and bottled water will be available at the library.

The Great Falls Forum is co-sponsored by Bates College, Lewiston Public Library and the Sun Journal.

The library is at 200 Lisbon St. at the corner of Pine Street.

More information contact the library at 513-3135 or www.lplonline.org.