INDIAN AFFAIRS
Homewood - Stony Run

January 29, 2010

Oliver J. Bell, Chairman
Texas Board of Criminal Justice
P. O. Box 13084
Austin, Texas 78711

Dear Oliver Bell,

You will have recently received a letter from Frederick W. Leonard, Clerk of Baltimore Monthly Meeting of Friends, Stony Run, confirming the Meeting’s support for the establishment and function of Roaming Buffalo Clan as a Native American religious organization by certain inmates at C T Terrell Unit in Rosharon. The Meeting encourages the Texas Department of Justice to make adequate accommodation for the faith and practices of Roaming Buffalo Clan as a peaceable, orderly and transparent means for the exercises of traditional Native American spirituality, consistent with prevailing legal standards. The Clerk’s letter also introduces me as one familiar with the condition of Indian inmates and as one active in the concern for Native American devotees in our state and federal prisons.

As one bearing the weight of this concern, I am writing to you in order to enlarge upon our expectations in the matter. Inasmuch as Friends desire you “to make adequate accommodation for the faith and practices of Roaming Buffalo Clan”, I think it will be useful for me to describe what I think “adequate accommodation” means. In short, it would be for the Texas Board of Criminal Justice to assure that those inmates who make a self-declaration of religious preference as “Native American” be allowed to act as a congregation for the faith and practice of traditional Native American spirituality including, but not limited to, the expression of beliefs, the observance of obligations and the performance of ceremonies, rites and rituals found among the traditional and indigenous peoples of the Americas and also to provide for and to exercise the individual and collective study of the myths, legends, narratives, traditions, customs, history, art, culture and folkways of the traditional and indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Without presuming to propose any internal order at C T Terrell Unit, it seems to me that any meaningful accomplishment of accommodation would include, at a minimum, the scheduling of regular times for both devotional activities as well as for educational activities more or less equivalent to the times allotted to other faith groups. Further, accommodation would, in my view, make allowances for such unique Native American religious expressions as a constant wearing of medicine bags and the administratively controlled use of sacred herbs, including incense cedar, sage, white sage, sweet grass, copal, canli (tobacco) etc. and appropriate displays of cultural identity, such as long hair styles and accessories of dress on occasion.

Whatever my personal understanding of Native American religion is or my sense of its accommodation at C T Terrell Unit might be, however, Friends would not have me prescribe them either to you or to our Indian friends. Personally, I do not lead my Indian brothers in their faith and practice, I follow. Collectively, we appreciate that the Texas Department of Justice has the authority to regulate and oversee the conduct of Native American devotions in a manner consistent with prevailing legal standards. But it is our understanding that presently all inmates’ religious activities may be burdened only by reason of “compelling government interests” and only then by the “least restrictive means”; and it is because of this understanding that we have addressed ourselves to you. There are strong indications to us that the staff at C T Terrell Unit presently fails to meet this standard.

Our Indian friends tell us that the administration at C T Terrell Unit refuses to acknowledge their congregation as a ‘Hoop’ and that their assigned chaplain refuses to assist them in any way to form it so by proper procedures through administrative channels.

Our Indian friends tell us that they are denounced without justification as a ‘gang’, that their licit activities are declared ’illegal’ and that they have been subjected to disciplinary actions for their activity and ’retaliations’ such as insult and verbal abuse for their beliefs.

Our Indian friends tell us that they are not allowed to wear their medicine bags or medallions at times and that their meetings for worship have been suspended.

Our Indian friends tell us that they have not been provided for some months with sacred herbs but with some “shredded grass” that is meaningless to them.

Our Indian friends tell us that they are willfully misdirected and obstinately misinformed by those with authority over them about their rights to religious organization under the Texas Department of Justice’s own regulations and guidelines.

My Indian brothers tell me that books for their study and copies of organizational and educational materials that I sent in care of the chaplain’s office have been denied to them, that their chaplain has denied even that they were received at the Unit, though I have independently confirmed the delivery.

Such harsh treatment as this - if found, in fact, to be true - would hardly be considered the “least restrictive means” of burdening religious practice. Friend, it would be more than foolish to abuse captive men in this way; it would be both unprofessional and dishonorable.

Friend, I urge to you to discover for yourself what is the condition of the Native American devotees at C T Terrell Unit at this time and to apply such remedial influence as you must have to any substandard condition you find there so that the staff at C T Terrell Unit will demonstrate toleration for traditional Native American devotions and other licit activities by the congregation of Roaming Buffalo Clan, consistent with legitimate institutional needs including safety and security. I urge you to read for yourself the manual of procedure that has been adopted as a “constitution” for the Native American congregation at C T Terrell Unit [ See POSTING, below ] and to disallow anything within that frame that is contrary to the good order of the institution, anything that is not peaceable, orderly and transparent.

Friend, I believe that if the Texas Board of Criminal Justice attends to this matter, relief for my Indian brothers will be quick in coming and that I shall hear from them about it soon thereafter. This will be a release as well as a relief to me.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

William O. Miles