The case stems from a broader dispute over the regulation of water quality near tribal lands. A legal battle that will help define the sovereign rights of Maine Indian tribes went before the state Supreme Court in Portland on Tuesday as dozens of tribal members chanted and banged drums outside the courthouse. The justices spent about 45 minutes asking questions and listening to arguments in the case that pits the state of Maine and several paper companies against the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation.
Tribal members say their right to self-governance is at stake.
Click here to see more images from Tuesday's arguments before the Supreme Court. Passions were high among tribal members, who see the state and the paper companies as continuing a long history of trampling the rights of tribes to govern themselves. They are trying to put their foot down on us. Lawyers for the state and the paper companies say they do not want to infringe on the tribes' rights. They say they simply want the tribes to follow regulations established in the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980.