Earlier this month, five Native American men held in the Rhode Island Department of Corrections’ maximum security facility in Cranston filed a lawsuit alleging religious discrimination.
The plaintiffs — represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and a student legal clinic at the Roger Williams University School of Law — claim that the prison has prevented them from engaging in religious practices, obtaining religious items and maintaining a diet consistent with their religious beliefs.
The plaintiffs have sought to engage in practices such as pipe ceremonies, drum circles, smudging ceremonies and powwows, the lawsuit reads. They have also attempted to obtain items including headbands, medicine bags and dreamcatchers, and have requested a diet of foods local to New England.
The suit claims that RIDOC has denied these requests and lacks policies or programs to accommodate Native American religious practices.
The lawsuit was brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal statute that prohibits the government from imposing a “substantial burden” on the religious exercise of institutionalized individuals, including those held in prisons. RLUIPA established that for the government to infringe on a religious practice, it must take the “least restrictive means” and be supported by a “compelling governmental interest.”
While RIDOC’s denials may also amount to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Goldstein said, RLUIPA provides a “more straightforward vehicle for litigating these issues.”
Given that federal and state prisons across the country have adopted policies to accommodate Native American religious activity, the plaintiffs argue that RIDOC’s repeated denials are inconsistent with the standards RLUIPA has established.
“We respect everyone’s constitutional right to practice and self-identify as a member of any religion they choose,” J.R. Ventura, a spokesperson for RIDOC, wrote in an email to The Herald. He added that the department is unable to offer further comment, citing the pending litigation.
Jared Goldstein, a professor of law and the director of RWU’s Prisoners’ Rights Clinic, told The Herald that while there may be “slightly complicated prison security issues” with permitting the religious practices, prisons all around the country have adopted policies to implement accommodations successfully.
“Rhode Island just needs to look around and adopt policies that other prisons have done,” Goldstein said.
The lawsuit also notes that practices and items associated with other religions are permitted. For example, Muslim inmates have been able to obtain kufis and Jewish inmates have been able to wear yarmulkes.
Goldstein noted the importance of the widespread denials from RIDOC. He explained that while “any deprivation of religious freedom” is significant, this case is particularly so because “it's not just a case where the prison isn't accommodating a particular religious practice … These clients can’t practice any aspect of their religious traditions.”
“Prisons are very dehumanizing institutions,” Goldstein added. Restricting prisoners from their religious practices makes it “even harder” for them to “have any part of their humanity respected.”
Goldstein told The Herald he hopes the suit will lead to the development of programs and policies that allow Native Americans to practice their religious beliefs.
While only five plaintiffs joined this case, ACLU of R.I. Executive Director Steven Brown wrote in an email to The Herald that “they are far from the only ones who have seen their religious rights violated” within the prison system.
Last summer, Goldstein and the ACLU of R.I. filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of 3 Native Americans held in medium and minimum security facilities who alleged similar religious discrimination issues. Goldstein told The Herald that they have asked the court to consolidate the two cases, as the claims in each are “essentially the same.”
A hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction in the first case will be held on March 4, Goldstein said.
Lev Kotler-Berkowitz is a senior staff writer covering city and state politics. He is from the Boston area and is a junior concentrating in Political Science and Economics. In his free time, Lev can be found playing baseball or running around with his dog.
