An Afternoon with Donna Loring Scheduled Nov. 12
Contact: Serena Bemis, 581-1648
The Wabanaki Center and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center are cosponsoring an afternoon with Donna Loring, the Penobscot Nation’s representative in the Maine legislature, who will discuss her book In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative’s Experience in Maine on Nov. 12.
A plenary session for approximately 100 people will be held in the afternoon, along with a reception. The event, being held in the McIntire Room of Buchanan Alumni House on College Avenue, is from 2-5:30 p.m. and is free. The public is invited.
Loring, an author and a Penobscot tribal historian, is a graduate of UMaine and holds a bachelor of arts in political science. A Vietnam veteran, her professional background is law enforcement, and she is a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Loring served as the police chief for the Penobscot Nation from 1984-1990, and was the first female police academy graduate to become police chief in the state of Maine. In 1992, she became the first woman director of security at Bowdoin College, a post she held until March, 1997. She received the Mary Ann Hartman Award from UMaine’s Women in Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program in 1999.
Loring has represented the Penobscots in five legislative terms, served as the Penobscot Nation’s coordinator of tribal, state and international relations through the 121st Legislature, and continues as a lecturer and consultant. In January, she will be replaced in the legislature by Wayne Mitchell.
Participating in the Nov. 12 events, which begin at 11 a.m., are UMaine President Robert Kennedy; Maureen Smith of Native American Studies; Susan Hunter, vice president for academic affairs and provost; Glenn Beamer, director, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center; Gail Dana-Sacco, director, Wabanaki Center; former Penobscot Chief Barry Dana; and Mary Cathcart, senior policy fellow, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and former state senator and representative.
A book signing with Loring is scheduled from 4-4:30 p.m.
The Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center requests that reservations be made in advance of Nov. 12 through event coordinator Serena Bemis, who can be reached by telephone at (207) 581-1648.