ACLU Sues Rhode Island DOC Again Over Native American Religious Rights

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island has sued the Department of Corrections over the religious rights of Native American prisoners.

The suit was the third brought by the ACLU against the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in three years, the ACLU of Rhode Island said in a media release.

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"The lawsuit, filed by Jared Goldstein, Director of the Clinic, and ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger, is on behalf of five prisoners of Native American ancestry housed at the ACI’s maximum security facility," the release said.

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The civil complaint claims the prisoners have been denied the right to practice their religion.

Prisons "around the country have adopted comprehensive policies for accommodating the religious practices of Native Americans, under which incarcerated individuals have 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 headbands, medicine bags, feathers, and dream catchers," the complaint said.

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"In contrast, RIDOC has adopted no policies for accommodating Native American
religious practices," the complaint claims. "It has created no opportunities for Native American prisoners to receive spiritual guidance from a Native American elder. It does not allow incarcerated people to participate in any Native American religious ceremonies. It does not allow Native American
prisoners to obtain Native American religious items."

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The denial of Native American religious right has been an ongoing problem, according to the complaint.

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