 Return to American Indians in Jail main page
For more information see the DLN Coalition, "American Indians in Jail : Rights and Abuses" Working Group page. 
Prison Families Policy - Request to allow prison families to return to pow wows
April 23, 2003
Hau (Greetings) Family Members, Relatives, Friends, Supporters, Spiritual Leaders,
Tribal Prisoner Liaisons and Representatives, all Tribal Councils and the
Grey Eagle Society.
In the summer of 1995, our families, were removed, from attending our Pow Wows here in the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill. At the same time, Wanda Hawk-Gerry, was removed, from her job as our Native American Liaison. This was a job created by former Warden Joe Class and former Governor Walter Dale Miller in 1993.
Linda Boyd, Principal for the Coolidge Learning Center, was also removed, for asking too many questions about the monies that came to the prison for insurance purposes, after the riot on May 5, 1993. Her questions were making people feel uneasy.
Wanda was fired by the staff of Warden Class which doesn’t seem to be right because he was the main person who publicly advocated for the job of the Native American Liaison, which Wanda was hired into, as one of the remedies to help the large population of the Native American prisoners. Warden Class and Governor Miller made the decision to find money in the state budget for the Native American Liaison position.
Since the riot of 1993, our prison time in general has become extremely harsh, we have lost a majority of our personal property rights, many prisoners have died to suicides, our time on the yards and in the recreation buildings is for one hour each day. The political backlash that we have received has been very cruel and unusual.
The Native American prisoners were blamed for the riot in the 1993, and as a result, a whole new system of policies and rules were put into place for the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill. There is proof that the riot was not caused by the Native American prisoners but by the mob mentality of a majority of the prisoners who were on the yards that night. Don Parisian, former Correctional Officer, who was in the Westgate control Tower, where the riot started, knows how everything began. He was able to see what happened.
Before the riot in 1993, there was a powerful atmosphere of caring and compassion, in all of our prison communities. All of the prisoners got to enjoy the luxury of becoming a serious artist or craftsperson because we had good art supplies and craft projects. We were allowed to order our own sports equipment, buy our own stereos and music. The food was very good and it was served in generous portions.
After the death of Gina Score in 1999, a new policy was put into effect here, that said, all prisoners would be weighed at a certain base weight, and if the prisoners exceeded their base weight in their food consumptions, then all food items from their weekly commissary purchases, would be removed by force. This policy is wrong for us because it was written without the understanding that all humans are categorized into three weight divisions. One is for the heavy weight people, two is for the large people and three is for the small people. Within these three weight divisions, our craving for food, especially in prison, is a natural desire.
We must look at the conditions that were here in the final months before the riot happened. Here are some that existed. We stand behind our words with a strong heart and mind. The attitude by the staff against the Native American prisoners was very negative. Alonzo Bush and Thomas White Hawk, two senior Lakota men, both serving life sentences were pleading for medical help but were not receiving any. They both died in 1997. Alonzo died from cancer and Thomas died from a massive heart attack. Our younger Native American prisoners were being harassed frivolously by staff, some were being threatened and assaulted by staff, and most were labeled as troublemakers and kept locked away in the Adjustment Center which is now known as the Special Housing Unit or the (SHU).
This is a letter that will achieve serious clarity for the Native American prisoners in the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill. The contents of this letter are not meant to downplay anyone or cause any hard feelings. This letter is the truth about some of the concerns, issues, problems and overburdens, that are here with us as we live in prison. The truth must be told before any amount of reconciliation can occur.
Our families must be allowed to come back. Entering prison for our Pow Wows is a process that our families understand. They would have to be cleared through security before entering prison. All family members must be 18 years old, possess a valid photo ID card and not be on another prisoner’s visiting list. Family members are allowed to come in but they are limited to nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, grandfathers, grandmothers, male cousins and female cousins. We are asking to have our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, children and grandchildren, approved to come back in. We cannot forget the preciousness of our wives.
The Jameson recreation building is where we have our Pow Wows from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The recreation building has a gymnasium for the Pow Wow, a changing room for the dancers, a hallway with two security cameras, a shower room with one security camera and a large shakedown area. We can be shook-down here before returning to our Units.
There is still no tribal language or culture classes because prisoners are not allowed to teach other prisoners, yet, we have chapel clerks, librarians and school tutors, who are allowed to act as teachers of religion in the chapel and in the curricular studies at the school. The chapel clerks, librarians and school tutors, are paid a daily wage which is set for all prisoners.
For fear of retaliation by staff, none of the tribal prisoners in the Jameson Prison or the Main Prison on the hill, wants to do or say anything about the return of our families into our Pow Wows, unless, we are willing to pay the price of being put in the Special Housing Units or the (SHU) for Investigative Purposes. We fear being placed in the Administrative Segregation Unity for a long time. Both of these places are used to keep prisoners quiet.
On April 12, 2003, Mr. Ron Volesky, Attorney at Law, came to our Pow Wow and listened to our concerns about having our families come back in. He offered to help us get something done by personally talking with Governor Rounds. We appreciate this kind and courageous gesture of tribal rehabilitation. This kind of rehabilitation will keep all of our people moving in the direction of many good things to come. We ask everyone to keep the spirit of truth and reconciliation alive. Please contact your families and tell them to get involved. This is one of those times that change will happen. Call or write to Mr. Volesky and ask how you can help, at his address below:
Ron Volesky, Attorney at Law
356 Dakota Ave. S.
Huron, SD 57350
(605) 352-2126
There is no written policy that says our families cannot attend our Pow Wows here at the Jameson Prison or the Main Prison on the hill. Since 1995, we have had to suffer without our families attending our Pow Wows, by a verbal policy that was put into place by the staff of Warden Class.
We are allowed to have Pow Wow in the visiting rooms of the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill but we refuse to have them in these small confines areas. They cannot accommodate our very large tribal prisoner numbers and the huge numbers of our families. The visiting rooms will never work for our Pow Wows. To have Pow Wows in the visiting rooms would be very disrespectful to our way of life.
Mike Durfee State Prison, formerly the Springfield State Prison, has a very successful family program for all age categories who want to attend the Pow Wows there on behalf of the Lakota Council of Tribes or (LCT). The success rate of this Pow Wow and tribal families attending can be attributed to Warden Dooley and his staff who understand the importance of maintaining family ties while in prison.
Former Warden Herman Solem, when he worked here from 1976 to 1989, believed in the element of families attending our Pow Wows because of the good morale that it created amongst his staff and the Native American prisoner community. Our families were able to come into our Pow Wows and enjoy themselves. They knew that our prison time was going to be good. Warden Solem was known for coming into our Pow Wows to speak to everyone about the successes of family rehabilitation.
In 1996, all of the prisoner organizations, were ordered to cease existing as legitimate organizations and to disperse of our monies in the Accounting Office here at the prison. The Lifer’s group, the Jaycees, the Veteran’s group, Black Incorporated, and the combined meetings of all the groups with staff, all did as they were ordered to, except, for the tribal prisoners in the Jameson Prison who are know as (The) Lakota Dakota Nakota Spiritual Group (LDNSG) and the Native American Council of Tribes, Inc., or (NACT, INC.) in the main prison on the hill.
We quickly realized that we could not relinquish our right to exist as two legitimate organizations because of our large tribal prisoner numbers and because we are protected by the tribal laws from each reservation and by the treaty laws that are enforced with all of our people in the Northern Plains. We are the only two organizations since 1996, who have succeeded in proving that we have a right to be here.
We ask that the policy which prevents our tribal prisoners from attending our Pow Wows be vacated or rescinded from the policies and procedures which govern us here in prison. This policy states, “That when a prisoner receives two minor write-ups or one major write-up or has just been released from on of the Special Housing Units or (SHU) 30 days prior to a scheduled Pow Wow, Group Function or Special Event with outside people, he cannot attend that activity.” In comparison, if a citizen out in the free-world, were to receive two minor traffic tickets or one major criminal charge or has just been released from jail, the citizen wouldn’t be allowed to attend a Pow Wow, Group Function or Special Event. Society would not tolerate this policy and it would be changed. As prisoners, this policy, torments us mentally and is an added punishment.
Our Pow Wows for the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill take a lot of planning, strategizing, organizing and work. We have a public relations crew, a respected food crew, a giveaway committee, a drum group, dancers and a set-up and clean-up crew. Our chairs, tables, sound system and equipment, are provided for us by each prison.
Everyone who attends our Pow Wows is treated with the greatest respect at all times. Our announcers, support people and organizers, from the outside always help in any way that they can. Our guests and tribal dignitaries usually arrive the night before our Pow Wows and stay with friends or in rented hotel rooms downtown. We can order buffalo, elk and deer meat, from an approved Federally inspected source. Our menu is usually buffalo soup, bean soup, fried potatoes, frybread, wojapi, cakes, pies, coffee and juice. Our Pow Wows are a time of honor and spirituality.
Money is never a problem for us here in the Jameson Prison or the Main Prison on the hill. All of our tribes send financial assistance to us on a regular basis. We accept money from people anywhere in the world. We take donations from any prisoner who wants to assist us. We try to keep our accounts full. May Montoya, with approval from Warden Weber, is a volunteer from the Sioux Falls community, who takes care of three tribal prisoner accounts and the are: (The) Lakota Dakota Nakota Spiritual Group (LDNSG), the Native American Council of Tribes, Inc. (NACT.INC) and the tribal prisoners in UNIT C. Mary can be reached at her address below:
Mary Montoya
kmwfsf@dtgnet.com email
3508 S. Minnesota Ave.
1-888-861-7949 toll free
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
605-336-7253 Fax
Tribal rehabilitation plays a vital role for us here in the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill. Here in the Northern Plains, tribal rehabilitation must not be denied by politics or by people who refuse to believe that we are real. Our families cannot be denied the right to participate with us in our Pow Wows. We have gone eight years with our families attending our Pow Wows and the time has come for them to be a part of our lives again. Our tribal families, like all families in the world, give us the greatest reasons for dignity and hope.
On a weekly basis, many tribal prisoners are transferred to and from the Jameson Prison and the Main Prison on the hill, and so we had to make references to both prisoners in this letter. Both prisons are in the same location in Sioux Falls, SD. Each prison has a Special Housing Unit or the (SHU), a Hospital, School, Kitchen, Maintenance Department, Control Rooms, Visiting Rooms, Prison Industries, Work Areas, Prison Yard and a Recreation building. The Jameson Prison has the only Administrative Segregation Unit for both prisons.
We are in the Blessings of Prayer.
Signed:
(The) Lakota Dakota Nakota Spiritual Group (LDNSG)
Box 5911
Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5911
home : mission statement : contact : site map : search : store : links
DLN coalition : DLN issues : DLN nation : related issues Any reprints are under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law : See http://www.dlncoalition.org/fair_use.htm.
|
