Henry John Bear

Henry John Bear is a Native American politician from Maine. In January 2013, he was sworn-in as the first elected member of the Maine House of Representatives representing the Maliseet people. He replaced David Slagger, who was appointed to the Maine House.[1]

Henry John Bear
Member of the Maine House of Representatives for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
In office January 2013 – January 2019
Preceded by	David Slagger
Succeeded by	Vacant
Personal details
Born	1956 Lewiston, Maine
Political party	Green Independent (since 2017) Democratic (before 2017)
Spouse(s)	Violet
Children	Four
Residence	Houlton, Maine
Alma mater	University of New Brunswick (J.D.) University of Maine (A.A.)
Occupation	Treaty & Economic Rights Advocate

Bear grew up in Lewiston, Maine living in poverty. At 17, he joined the United States Coast Guard, where he met his wife, Violet Dotson. The two have four grown children and eight grandchildren. He and his family live in Houlton, Maine, where they operate a Maliseet respite care facility.[1]

He was the Democratic candidate for the 144th district in the 2016 election.[2] In November 2017, he became a member of the Maine Green Independent Party.[3] Bear ran unsuccessfully for Maine's 2nd congressional district in 2018.[4] The Maliseet people opted not to send a delegate to the Maine House of Representatives for 2019-2020 session.[5]

References

1. Bayly, Julia (January 26, 2013). "Houlton Maliseet, first elected tribal representative to Maine House, looking forward to session". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
2. Cousins, Christopher (2016-03-16). "LePage's legacy at stake in Maine's 2016 legislative races". Bangor Daily News.
3. "Second state representative enrolls Green Independent". 2017-11-21.
4. "Representative Henry Bear joins race for 2nd Congressional District seat". Machias Valley Observer. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
5. https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12/08/just-1-tribal-official-bound-for-augusta/