The Passamaquoddy Tribal Council at Sipayik decided at an April 22 meeting to terminate the employment of Vice Chief Ernest Neptune because of allegations of sexual harassment. The tribal council does not have the authority to remove Neptune from his elected office of vice chief, though. Neptune has been given the opportunity to resign from his office but has declined to do so, as he strongly denies the accusations and refers to the investigation that was conducted of the charges made against him as "a witch hunt."
      The allegations about the vice chief's conduct began to emerge in February, and tribal government employees and other tribal members then came forward with statements about sexual harassment by the vice chief. The tribal council hired an attorney to conduct an investigation that included interviewing 10 witnesses and reviewing text messages, recordings and other evidence.
      A summary of the investigation states that the attorney "determined Ernie Neptune engaged in a sustained pattern of abusive and harassing conduct toward female employees and members of the community who were not employees who were receiving services from the tribe, including women receiving financial assistance." The harassment allegedly included Neptune's telling women that they "owed him" for their jobs or assistance they were receiving. Evidence included that he had asked women for nude or sexual photos and offered to pay for those photos, requested sexual favors and sent inappropriate or explicit memes or photos to the women. He allegedly made the requests repeatedly and expressed frustration when the women did not respond. The summary report states, "Some of the witnesses interviewed expressed fear that they would be retaliated against and indicated they knew of other women who had received similar communications from Ernie Neptune but who were too afraid to come forward because of Ernie Neptune's position of power."
      While Neptune did not agree to be interviewed by the investigator, he did state that he would sometimes "sext" women while he was drinking and suggested that he did not realize he was making women feel uncomfortable and that all texts were consensual and reciprocated. The investigator's report, though, casts doubt on the explanations, as some of the sexual messages were sent during working hours and he sometimes repeatedly asked women for responses despite not receiving them.
      The report found that the abusive behavior violated the tribal government's harassment policy and caused unnecessary harm to community members.
Vice chief says report biased
      Neptune, though, says he believes the report is "extremely biased. The report only took parts and pieces they wanted to put into the report." Neptune says any communications he had were consensual with adult women and were reciprocated. "It was a continual joking process throughout."
      "I felt it was a witch hunt from the beginning," he says of the investigation. "I felt it was extremely blown out of proportion." Speaking emphatically, he says, "It was a very, very unfair process."
      Neptune says he declined to be interviewed by the attorney, noting, "I only answer to the council and the people." He says the attorney works for Drummond Woodsum, which the tribal government uses as its law firm. "They got what they paid for," he says, maintaining the report was not done by "an unbiased, third-party person." He also feels that tribal councillors "were groomed" to turn against him, and he notes that councillors met an hour before the posted time for the council meeting at which they voted to terminate his employment. That earlier meeting would have violated the tribe's constitution, since it was not a posted meeting.
      "There were no victims in this -- only me," Neptune says. "It's ruined my reputation. It took my livelihood away. It was an internal tribal matter that went public. There's no privacy with my personal life."
      Neptune says he has drawn up a resolution that initially was supported by some tribal councillors and that seeks to place Chief Pos Bassett on paid administrative leave while allegations that have been made about inappropriate behavior on his part are investigated. However, two of the supportive councillors ended up removing their names from the resolution, according to Neptune. He says, though, that he is considering possible legal action over the council's decision.
Council issues statement
      A statement supported by the tribal council and read at the April 22 council meeting by Councillor Rena Newell says that the vice chief abused his position of power and engaged in sexual harassment against multiple women. "These are people who should have been safe when working for us, living in our community or seeking help from their vice chief. Some of these women are our most vulnerable people in our community, and it was his responsibility to protect them."
      The tribal council's statement also addresses the women who came forward, stating, "We are sorry for what happened to you. We believe you. We thank you -- for your strength, your honesty and your bravery." It continues, "This kind of behavior has been tolerated for far too long in our community. We hope that today is an important step to ensuring that this type of behavior no longer plagues our workplaces, our community or our homes."
      The statement concludes, "We have to do better, and we will do better. That means protecting the vulnerable, holding the powerful accountable and creating spaces where every person is treated with dignity and respect."
      That point was echoed by Chief Pos Bassett in a letter to the Sipayik community. Noting that the community should "support the ones that have been wronged instead of treating them as they have done something wrong," he writes that, the night after the council meeting, he was listening to the voices of children who were staying with his son during the April school vacation. "I can hear their laughter echoing in the halls, and this is what I love about my community, but when I woke I found myself for the first time not wanting my kids to stay in our community after they graduate high school. We continue to drag each other down, and this is not the way of life our people deserve. Depression, poverty and addiction are all around us, and we must change how we live and how we treat one another. Passamaquoddy values need to be brought back into our everyday lives, and we must do the right thing and support what is right."