I am not sure how many states do not accommodate Native prisoners and allow ceremonies... Trace.
R.I. prisons did not accommodate Native American religious practices for three inmates, lawsuit alleges
By Christopher Gavin June 13, 2025
PROVIDENCE — A new lawsuit alleges the Rhode Island Department of Corrections has denied opportunities for three inmates of Native American ancestry to practice their religion, in contrast to federal and state correctional institutions around the country.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the Roger Williams University Law School Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic filed the lawsuit in US District Court in Providence on Friday on behalf of Tyler Smith, Kyle Moreino, and Joseph Shepard, who are all incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, R.I., according to the complaint.
“Prison systems around the country have adopted comprehensive policies for accommodating the religious practices of Native Americans, under which incarcerated individuals have access to a spiritual counselor, typically a Native elder; the opportunity to participate in religious ceremonies, including pipe ceremonies, sweat lodge ceremonies, smudging ceremonies, drum circles, and powwows; and the opportunity to obtain religious items, including medicine bags, feathers, and dream catchers,” the lawsuit states.
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