And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Deal may end suit on inmate religion http://www.rochesternews.com/1017religion.html State offers to hire a Native American chaplain, allow possession of sacred items By Kyle Hughes Democrat and Chronicle ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 17, 1999) -- State officials will hire a Native American chaplain for the New York prison system and will allow Native American inmates to possess sacred and ceremonial items, according to a proposed settlement of a religious freedom lawsuit. "As a result of this lawsuit, Native American inmates are going to have their religious rights protected to a far greater extent," David Leven of Prisoners' Legal Services said. "Specifically, they are going to be able to possess certain religious items that up until now have been prohibited." As part of the deal, the state will pay $50,000 for attorneys' fees, court costs and other expenses. The prison system, which includes clergy of different faiths, also will create a part-time position for a Native American chaplain. The agreement -- filed in July in U.S. District Court in Rochester with Judge Charles J. Siragusa -- has been signed by attorneys for the inmates and the state and is awaiting the approval of a federal judge after Native American inmates have a chance to comment on the deal. The lawsuit was filed in 1997 by Native American inmates over what the agreement calls "the systematic deprivation of religious rights of traditional Native American prisoners." The deal permits Native Americans to observe sacred seasonal ceremonies of the Longhouse religion and possess medicine bags, herbs, bones, pebbles, pendants, smoking pipes, and ashtrays for smudging or ceremonial cleansing rites. The new policy will become a problem for corrections officers only if they are hampered in searching inmates for contraband, said Denny Fitzpatrick, director of public relations for the New York state Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association. It remains to be seen whether that happens, he said. The state did not admit to violating any law or rule, and said the deal shall not be considered a precedent for any other inmate religious groups since the needs of Native Americans are unique. Native American inmates who want to practice their traditional religion will have to produce a birth certificate, a tribal registration, a letter from a tribal leader or government records, or receive the approval of prison officials. Midge Dean-Stock, director of the Seneca Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca, Cattaraugus County, said medicine pouches can be as important to a Native American as a cross to a Christian. "They are a connection with your faith," she said. "They are a protection, a blessing. In many traditions, they make you whole." Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
