By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News
Managing Editor SEATTLE — In response to the continued denial of religious freedoms to Native American prisoners in multiple states across the country, several prominent advocacy groups have approached the United Nations Human Rights Committee with a complaint. The National Congress of American Indians, Native American Rights Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Seattle based HUY submitted an update to a previously filed report. The Joint Submission to Human Rights Committee Concerning Indigenous Prisoners’ Religious Freedoms in the United States of America update addresses what the groups claim to be “violations occurring against indigenous prisoners and related controversies in at the following American states: California, Montana, Hawaii, Arizona, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, and Missouri.” Recently in South Dakota the State Department of Corrections has been challenged by Native prisoners for the continued denial of tobacco for religious use, a clear violation of the Native American Religious Freedom Act. The ban was overturned by a judge. Incidents like this are not uncommon across the country as misunderstandings about Native American religions and the occasional outright prejudicial policies of certain penal institutions has led to the erosion or denial of religious freedoms for prisoners; something that the group wants to address by approaching the U.N. “The religious and human rights violations being committed by state and county corrections agencies against indigenous prisoners remain prevalent,” said Gabe Galanda a lawyer with the group. “International intervention is now needed to bring the U.S. and its state and local siblings into universal compliance with the American federal law and worldwide human rights norms.” In many states with high Indian populations, including South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana the percentage of incarcerated tribal members is significantly higher than the percentage of the Indian population in the state. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter@nsweekly.com)
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