The NY Times today published an article about the practice of Native American religion in a CT prison. Here's the link:
Worship, Dark and Steamy, for Murderers and Rapists
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/national/25religion.html?th&emc=thAnd some excerpts:
The inmates in this traditional Indian sweat lodge in this most untraditional setting were practicing Native American spirituality at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in northern Connecticut. With roughly 2,000 inmates, MacDougall-Walker is the state's largest prison, a maximum security facility that is home to some of Connecticut's more notorious prisoners.
In this population are about 30 who identify themselves as Native Americans. Like the more than 500 prisoners statewide who declare themselves Native American on admission, whether they truly have a trace of Indian blood, an entire lineage or not one legitimate drop is of no concern to prison officials here, who find religious pursuit a productive use of inmate time and also have been pressed by the courts to be even more open to it.
And here's a few comments from me. I invite your comments as well:
1. I felt the title of the article was wrong-more like a tease, and implied something non-sacred.
2. I found the slideshow accompanying this article offensive-for any Native American spiritual ceremony I've been involved in states categorically that no photos or films be made. Of course, maybe the prison chaplain, Two Rivers, felt it was needed to explain what was going on, to open the idea of allowing the lodges in other prisons. I hope that he is right with the Spirits on this.
3. I observed that the title and a later comment in the article were judgemental (the author commented that when the prisoners were asked to name who they prayed for, no one mentioned their victims).