Celebrating life of a 'true leader'

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

By GREGORY D. KESICH, Portland Press Herald Writer

Photo © Maine Today 2006

Staff photo by Derek Davis

Friends and family carry the casket of Passamaquoddy tribal governor Melvin Francis to St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church on the Pleasant Point reservation. Francis died in a traffic accident last week while returning from a meeting to obtain discounted heating oil for Maine's Indian tribes.

PLEASANT POINT — Passamaquoddy tribal governor Melvin Francis recently told a friend that when he died, he would try to find his ancestors. "He said he would tell them, 'We're still here,' " said Bob Newell, governor of the Indian Township Passamaquoddy reservation. " 'We still speak our language. We still hear the drum. We still dance.' "

Newell spoke Tuesday at a memorial service for Francis at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church on the Pleasant Point reservation, where Francis lived most of his life and became its leader.

Francis, 60, died Thursday when his pickup truck skidded on a patch of ice and collided with an oil truck on Route 9. He was returning from a meeting in which Indian representatives had signed a deal to buy discounted heating oil this winter from Venezuela-owned Citgo Corp.

Francis was remembered Tuesday as part of a generation of Maine Indians who revived their traditional culture in the 1960s, then went on to advocate for economic development projects that would improve their people's lives.

In recent years, Francis supported a racetrack with slot machines in Washington County. He also favored building liquefied natural gas facilities on Pleasant Point.

His funeral was attended by about 700 people. They overwhelmed the small brick church and packed a school gymnasium across the street, where they watched on remote video.

Mourners included the leaders of all of Maine's American Indian groups, as well as a delegation of state political leaders led by Gov. John Baldacci, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud and state Attorney General Steven Rowe.

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the state House and Senate also attended. State flags were ordered to be flown at half staff, and Baldacci delayed his State of the State address from Tuesday until today.

The service combined elements of Catholic and American Indian traditions in a ceremony in which a crucifix and an eagle feather both played a role. Bible passages were read in English and Passamaquoddy, and hymns were chanted to drumbeats.

Baldacci said he and Francis disagreed on the racino issue, but he always liked to confer with him.

"He was always very constructive. He was the kind of leader who moves his people ahead and does it with standards and ideals," Baldacci said. "It's important for us as a people to come together at a time like this to celebrate his contributions in life."

Francis' widow, Carol, addressed the church and delivered special words to their children, telling each what they meant to their father.

And Snowe noted that Francis "was deeply loved, respected and revered and held in high esteem for the way he led his people. That's the mark of a true leader."

Francis, whose four-year term as governor was set to expire this year, was described by many Tuesday as a peacemaker. He had the ability to bring people together, said Newell, and the turnout at his memorial service was a testament to that. The mourners included members of Maine's other tribes, the Penobscots, Maliseets and Micmacs.

"This is the first time ever that we've had the Maine congressional people (attend a service) when a native person dies," Newell said. "The governor of the state of Maine has never been here when a native person dies. It's a great honor to have these people here.

"Melvin displayed his leadership to Governor Baldacci and the congressional leadership," Newell said. "He was always trying to unify people."

Memorials for Francis started Friday morning, hours after his death. A prayer vigil began in a tribal building next to the church and continued around the clock until Monday evening, when it was stopped for a community meal.

Tribe members also held a vigil on a windswept hill nearby, where a sacred fire was kindled and tended even through an ice storm on Saturday. The fire was allowed to burn out during the funeral service.

Throughout the three days, tribe members visited and burned tobacco leaves, which are said to carry prayers to the sky with their smoke.

One of those mourners was Reggie Stanley, 55, who sat beside the fire Tuesday morning with two dogs. He said that as a teenager, Francis was part of a group that revived traditional dancing among the Passamaquoddy in 1965.

"It instilled pride in us, in who we are," Stanley said. "He expressed his culture through dance, and he was a good dancer, too."

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Staff Writer Gregory D. Kesich can be contacted at 791-6336 or at:

gkesich@pressherald.com

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Last updated on January 25, 2006