Racism sinks racino

Tribe ponders why racino failedPleasant Point Chief Rick Phillips Doyle said it is difficult not to think racism played a role in the outcome, given the history of the now 1,400-member tribe.

"I think to a large extent it was," he said. "I was thinking that it was more of the same oppression we’ve been under for hundreds of years. I don’t discount that because time and time again, every time we propose something or try to do something as a tribe, we are always being told, ‘No, you can’t do it, you can’t do it,’ yet other people can do it. There is no social justice."

Tribal member Ken Poynter said he was not surprised by the loss. "The state of Maine has an extensive history of being anti-Native. I don’t see that changing now or in the future," he said.