“Again and again, plaintiffs have asked RIDOC officials for permission to obtain native American religious items, engage in Native American ceremonies, and obtain guidance from a Native American elder, but defendants have turned away all of those requests,” the lawsuit alleges.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit claiming that at least five Native American men held in Rhode Island’s Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston have been denied the ability to practice their religion.
According to The Rhode Island Current, the lawsuit asks the court to issue an order allowing the men to partake in certain native religious traditions, including pipe and sweat lodge ceremonies, smudging ceremonies, drum circles, and powwows.
The 38-page lawsuit names the following plaintiffs: Jaquontee Reels, Anthony Moore, Louis Seignious, Craig Robinsion, and Wallace Cable. The five men, all incarcerated in the Adult Correctional Institution’s maximum-security block, are being represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the Roger Williams University School of Law Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic.
The Current notes that this is at least the third lawsuit in as many years that the organizations have filed against Rhode Island, accusing the state of implementing corrections policies that impede prisoners’ rights to worship freely.
“Prisons around the country accommodate all t he traditional practices these prisoners are asking for, but Rhode Island continues to deny them,” said Jared Goldstein, the director of the RWU Law clinic. “This has got to stop.”
Each of the five men say they filed grievances to challenge the lack of approved religious services and accommodations for Native Americans; their complaints were ignored, and their requests were generally denied.
“Again and again, plaintiffs have asked RIDOC officials for permission to obtain native American religious items, engage in Native American ceremonies, and obtain guidance from a Native American elder, but defendants have turned away all of those requests,” the lawsuit alleges.
Attorneys for the prisoners also noted that, under the terms of an April 2025 settlement, the state agreed to establish new procedures for inmates with religions that are not explicitly recognized by the prison system to request approval for religious items and services consistent with their beliefs. However, the lawsuit contends that the state failed to act within the 120-day timeframe specified by the settlement and has yet to adopt any corrective policies.
“Even after two other lawsuits, RIDOC continues to disregard the rights of incarcerated Native American people,” said ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown. “Even in prison, freedom of religion remains a fundamental right, and we will continue to work to prevent the suppression of that right at the ACI.”
Sources
ACLU files another lawsuit over denial of Native American prisoners’ religious rights at ACI
Join the conversation!