Donna Loring

Donna M. Loring
Donna M. Loring speaking at Maine Women in Media, Lincolnville, Maine, April 28, 2012.
Born	(1948-10-01) October 1, 1948 (age 68) Indian Island, Maine
Occupation	Author, broadcaster, and tribal representative of the Penobscot nation in the American state of Maine
Nationality	American
Education	University of Maine
Alma mater	Maine Criminal Justice Academy
Notable works	In the Shadow of the Eagle, The Glooskape Chronicles: Creation and the Venetian Basket
Notable awards	Mary Ann Hartman Award
Spouse	Deborah Bouchard

Donna M. Loring (born October 1, 1948) is an author, broadcaster, and tribal representative of the Penobscot nation in the American state of Maine.

Loring grew up on Indian Island, Maine, where she was raised by her grandmother. She received a bachelor's degree of Arts in Political Science from the University of Maine in Orono. She graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and, in 1984, and became the police chief for the Penobscot nation, making her the Academy's first female graduate to become a police chief. From 1992 to 1997, Loring was the first female director of security at Bowdoin College. During her service in Vietnam, she was stationed at the communications center at Long Binh Army base fifty miles north of Saigon where she processed all casualty reports of Southeast Asia. Former Maine State Governor Angus King commissioned her to honorary Colonel rank, and appointed her as Aide de Camp to advise him on women veteran's affairs. In 1999, she was given the Mary Ann Hartman Award, which recognizes Maine women for accomplishments in the arts, politics, business, education, and community services, from the Women in Curriculum and Women's Studies Program at the University of Maine.

Maine is unique in having tribal representatives sit (in a non-voting capacity) in its state legislature. Following this tradition, which dates back to the 1800s, Loring served several terms on behalf of the Penobscots. She supported a bill in 2000 to remove word "squaw" from public site names. One of Loring's major accomplishments was her writing and sponsorship of LD 291, “An Act to Require Teaching Maine Native American History and Culture in Maine’s Schools” which passed as a law in 2001. Among her other achievements in the legislature, she created the first "State of the Tribes Address" in the history of Maine. Held in March 2002 and attended by tribal chiefs, the event was broadcast live on Maine Public Television and Radio. Loring also worked on a bill that proposed to extend the time period in which the tribe could purchase land for the Calais Casino. Finally, in April 2008, Loring put before the legislature HP 1681, "Joint Resolution in the Support of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples." This passed unanimously, making Maine the only state in the country to pass such a resolution in favor of the UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights.