INDIAN ISLAND, Maine - Michael Sockalexis, known for his vibrant and traditional Penobscot dance style and his lifelong involvement in American Indian issues, died April 22 at Bangor Hospital. He was 60 years old.
Sockalexis was born in Old Town, and worked across the United States with many tribal nations and the IHS.
He served as a Penobscot Nation tribal council and as tribal representative to the Legislature during its last session, but did not seek re-election last July because of health issues.
His death came as a blow both to the Native community and the state.
Paul Bisulca, Penobscot and the chairman of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, described his childhood friend.
''Mike's got a way about him that is very endearing and you'd really have to work hard not to like Mike Sockalexis. He's a really nice guy. He always was,'' Bisulca said. Bisulca spoke of his friend in the present tense, he said, because ''maybe I just haven't accepted that he's gone. It's such a shock; it's too hard to believe. He was too young and he was such a part of everything. He was very, very engaged in Indian issues. He thought a lot about his tribe and his people and worked very hard for them. He was just an all round great guy. To have him suddenly disappear or be absent from what's going on ... It takes a little while to get accustomed to the fact that he's no longer here,'' Bisulca said.
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