LEWISTON – Bates College will host two separate, public lectures on the Nov. 4 casino referendum this month.

Speaking against the proposed $650 million casino, which would be owned by the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe, will be state Rep. Mary Black Andrews, R-York. Her talk, “Casinos: A Windfall or Bust?” will be on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Speaking for the casino issue will be Penobscot Chief Barry Dana, who will present “The Casino: New Answers to Old Problems” on Oct. 29.

Andrews is a co-founder of CasinosNO!, the political action committee fighting the referendum. She is serving her third term in the Legislature, and her fifth year on the Education Committee. A Maine native active in community affairs, Andrews served seven years on the York Board of Selectmen and is president of the York Volunteer Ambulance. A mother and grandmother, she is a nurse by profession, and earned her bachelor of science degree at age 44. “I am a strong proponent of victims’ rights and the need to preserve open space in York County,” she said in a prepared statement.

Dana was elected chief of the Penobscot Nation by tribal members in 2000. Along with campaign spokesman Erin Lehane, Dana is a leading voice of the pro-casino campaign, Think About It. He lives in Solon with his wife and daughter, and has an office on the Penobscot Reservation in Old Town, where he spent years teaching Penobscot culture to children. A well-known environmentalist and representative of the Penobscots, Dana has said that while gambling does not represent Indian culture, “for us that’s not what this is about. It’s about economics and self-reliance.”

The lectures are sponsored by the Bates College departments of history, anthropology and environmental studies, and the Bates College Democrats and Republicans. “There has been a lot of advertising with a lot of rhetoric that hasn’t adequately addressed people’s concerns about this issue,” said Joseph Hall, Bates College assistant professor of history.

The lectures will allow the speaker to talk for one hour, with one more hour allowed for questions and answers. Both will begin at 7 p.m. in the Keck Classroom (G52) of Pettengill Hall at Bates College. Pettengill Hall is on College Street near Russell Street. Parking is available at the Olin Arts Center on Russell Street, or on College Street.

For more information call 786-6462.

– Staff Writer Bonnie Washuk

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