Indian inmates proceed with suit

BANGOR – The procedural problems that kept a federal suit filed by American Indian inmates at the Maine State Prison from moving forward appear to have been resolved.

Members of Sacred Feathers, Native American Circle sued Warden Jeffrey Merrill and two other prison officials in May in U.S. District Court in Bangor over the right to practice their religion at the former facility in Thomaston and the new one in Warren.

But the Sacred Feathers’ members weren’t allowed to represent themselves and there were procedural issues with the way the initial complaints were written.

Now a third amended complaint in the case has been filed by attorney Christopher Roach of Portland who was appointed to represent the group.

Roach is denying earlier news reports that the intent of the lawsuit was to repeal a 3-year-old smoking ban in state correctional facilities. He said the actions of prison officials violate the 1st and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

“They are not seeking any repeal of the no smoking ban at the prison,” Roach said recently. “The ceremonies they want to conduct have everything to do with religion and nothing to do with smoking.

“These are legitimate Native American practices, and to suggest that we are filing a complaint aimed at removing the ban rather than attempting to gain equality displays ignorance about what those legitimate practices are.”

Sacred Feathers was formed with Merrill’s approval in 1998 at the former facility in Thomaston. Despite that, the suit charges that prison officials have “failed to provide reasonable accommodation for members to practice regularly even the most basic aspects of their religion.”

Ten of the Sacred Feathers’ 23 members claim in their suit that accommodations made for American Indian inmates are not equal to those of Christian inmates. The prison employs a Protestant chaplain, and a Catholic priest regularly conducts Mass in a chapel in the facility, according to the lawsuit.

Smudging ceremonies are an important aspect of American Indian religious practices, the suit claims. In a smudging ceremony, a small amount of sacred tobacco and sweet grass are burned in a ceremonial smudge bowl. While the Sacred Feathers members stand in a circle and pray, one of the group’s members uses an eagle feather to push the smoke toward each person’s face and body.

Intended to purify the participants during prayer, the ceremony takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete. American Indians outside prison usually attend smudging ceremonies two to three times a week.

The suit charges that Sacred Feathers’ members have not been afforded the same privacy to practice their religion that Christians have. Prison officials have required American Indians to perform smudging ceremonies outside and in-between buildings in a heavily traveled area, resulting in derogatory comments from both passing non-American Indian inmates and prison guards.

Prison officials also have canceled the smudging ceremony at least six times in the past 12 months, confiscated the group’s smudging bowl and desecrated it by scraping the ashes out of the bowl, the suit claims. They also have refused to allow members of Sacred Feathers to have eagle feathers for use in the ceremony.

Other ceremonies that American Indians have been denied, according to Roach, include a pipe ceremony that allows the smoke to touch each member as they stand in a circle, then rise to the Creator, and the use of a sweat lodge.

Sacred Feathers’ members also have been denied prayer rugs, even though Muslim inmates are allowed them. Christian inmates also are allowed to wear crucifixes, but prison officials have confiscated necklaces purchased by Sacred Feathers members. American Indians have been permitted to retain medicine bags and necklaces they already possess.

Roach said the lawsuit was not prompted by one individual incident, but was filed after “a long period of frustration as Native American inmates have tried to inform prison officials of the nature of their religious practices.”

“It is important that prison officials have same level of understanding of Native American practices they have of Christian practices,” the attorney said.

The inmates are seeking a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, compensatory damages and, eventually, a jury trial. Their attorney, however, did not rule out a possible settlement.

“We hope that with the filing of the lawsuit and the ensuing discussion, we’ll be able to reach some common understanding or at least resolution to the problems,” Roach said.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office has until Monday, Sept. 8, to respond to the suit. Assistant Attorney General Diane Sleek defends the state against lawsuits filed by inmates.

The Attorney General’s Office does not comment about current litigation.