Donna Loring grew up on Indian Island and graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a BA in Political Science. Donna is also a Vietnam veteran who served in the communications center at Long Binh Army Base located approximately thirty miles northeast of Saigon. It was her job to process all the casualty reports for Southeast Asia. She was stationed in Vietnam from November of 1967 to November of 1968 and served during the TET Offensive. Her professional background is in law enforcement and she is a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. She was the first woman police academy graduate to become police chief in the state of Maine and served as the police chief for the Penobscot Nation from 1984—90. In 1992 she became the first woman director of security at Bowdoin College, a position she held until March of 1997. Donna was appointed aide de camp to then—governor Angus King on March 17, 1999, and was commissioned with the rank of colonel by the governor. She was advisor to former Governor King on women veterans' affairs. On November 4, 1999, Donna received the Mary Ann Hartman Award from the University of Maine's Women in Curriculum and Women's Studies Program. The award recognizes outstanding Maine women for their accomplishments in the arts, politics, business, education, and community service. She has served in the Maine State Legislature as the tribal representative of the Penobscot Nation from 1998—2004, and 2005 to the present.

"…Written in first—person perspective….Highly recommended, especially for Native American study shelves." —The Midwest Book Review, May 2008
"…one abiding message…The more things change, the more they stay the same…two years' worth of Loring's thoughts, obervations, conversations and

struggles…" —Indian Country Today, April 28, 2008
"…rich, insightful and challenging…a book every concerned Mainer should read and think about…" —Maine Sunday Telegram, May 25, 2008
"…riveting narrative of one determined, self—assured and brutallly frank tribal representative…revealing portrait of day—to—day life in the Legislature…" —Kennebec Journal, April 17, 2008
"…the perspective she offers as a Native American and as a legislator is both valuable and fascinating…Written with unflinching honesty…" —The Maine Event, May 2008
"If a library has a Maine history and government collection, it must own this book. While sharing her experiences as Penobscot Nation representative to the Maine State Legislature, Loring educates readers about the state's Native people and about its political process…This journal covers events from January 2000, to August, 2002…A brief history of tribal representation, a list of the representatives, and an index enhance this book's educational value. Essential for Maine collections, it belongs in larger Native American and women's studies collections as well." —Multicultural Review, Winter 2008
"…you will find a great deal of local Maine history incorporated into the daily sketches that Loring recorded. It is a frank, honest and often humorous, personally revealing story of her continuing dedication to her people and the state of Maine." —Village Soup, July 25, 2009