Invitation to Opening of Maliseet Achivement Center April 2008
IBM, SeniorNet, the Native American Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) are proud to invite you to the grand opening of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Technology Achievement Center at the Maliseet Recreation Center in Houlton, Maine.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Technology Achievement Center is part of the ‘Hope and Harmony for Humanity Initiative’, a program to bring technology access and education to low-income residents of rural Native American tribal lands. It will serve as a computer lab for free computer access and education, and truly an ‘Achievement Center’ that also offers tribal members of all ages education on health issues, cultural history and life biographies, return to work/employment skills and intergenerational programs.
The grand opening will include Houlton Band of Maliseet Technology Achievement Center Volunteers, tribal elders, elected officials and members of the local and national media. We’d love to have your participation in this event. Here are the details:
WHAT: Grand opening of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Technology Achievement Center sponsored by IBM, SeniorNet, the Native American Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior
WHEN: Thursday, April 24, 2008
1:00-2:00 p.m. Grand Opening and Welcome Speeches
2:00-3:00 p.m. Refreshments and Tour of Achievement Center
WHERE: Maliseet Recreation Center
568 Foxcroft Road
Houlton, Maine
RSVP: Please contact the SeniorNet receptionist at 408-615-0699 ext. 301 or sarah@hq.seniornet.org to confirm your attendance.
On behalf of IBM, SeniorNet, the Native American Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, we hope that you’ll be able to join us for this landmark event. We look forward to seeing you on April 24th.
Directions To Our Offices
ABOUT US
"Indian
Nations had always been considered as distinct, independent political communities,
retaining their original natural rights, as the undisputed possessors of the
soil ... The very term 'nation,' so generally applied to them, means 'a people distinct from
others.'"
John Marshall, 1832 Worcester v. Georgia ,31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515, 561
Before contact with Europeans, the Maliseets occupied much of what is now considered the eastern border line of the U.S. and Canada in northern New England . After the Jay Treaty in 1794, the Maliseets obtained free border crossing rights between the two countries because their villages spanned both countries.
Above is the Meduxnekeag River which flows through Maliseet Tribal Lands.
Below are our Tribal Offices located on 88 Bell Road in Littleton, Maine.The leftmost portion houses our Health Department Offices, while the right portion is home to our Administrative Offices.
In
the early 1970's, some Maliseet and members of other tribes not living on recognized
reservations banded together to form the Association of Aroostook Indians,
which eventually allowed them access to federal and state programs.
The Houlton
Band of Maliseet Indians (HBMI) has been federally recognized as a government
by the United States of America since October of 1980. This federal recognition
gives HBMI a unique government to government trust relationship with the United
States . In turn, recognition entitles the Houlton Band to many services provided
to Indians by the United States of America, including health care through
Indian Health Services (IHS), housing through the United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the ability to govern our own
Tribal Affairs.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians is comprised of some 800 members and is lead by a Tribal Chief. A smaller band of the larger Maliseet Nation of New Brunswick, Canada, the Houlton Band calls the Meduxnekeag River home. The Maliseets are river people who have traditionally been hunters and gatherers in the St. John River basin , of which the Meduxnekeag is a tributary.
The river itself is prized for its brook and brown trout populations. Currently, HBMI has a farm and commercial land holdings in Aroostook County . Much of the land borders a significant amount of the Meduxnekeag, a critical link in preserving tribal practices, traditions and history.
Directions To Our Offices (.pdf file)
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