ACLU Rhode Island files suit claiming violation of Native American inmate’s religious freedom

The ACLU of Rhode Island Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s Department of Corrections (DOC) over allegations it refused to accommodate the religious practices of an Indigenous inmate.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Providence in conjunction with the Roger Williams University (RWU) Law Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic, claims the DOC repeatedly denied requests from inmate Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh, 59, to wear a White Mountain Apache Tribe headband.

DOC spokesperson J.R. Ventura said the department on Wednesday “just became aware of the lawsuit” and is looking into the matter.

“Any concerns will be addressed once we have an opportunity to read it and discuss its claims,” Ventura said via email.

The suit claims Pawochawog-Mequinosh’s requests for a headband were on the grounds that his religion is designated as “Pagan/Wiccan” in DOC’s data management system and that an Apache headband is not an approved religious item for people with that designation.

Pawochawog-Mequinosh chose to identify as Pagan/Wiccan because a DOC counselor allegedly told him in 2018 that the prison’s computer system did not include a “Native American” religious designation, according to the complaint. 

Being pagan also afforded Pawochawog-Mequinosh the ability to obtain rune stones and tarot cards, which are also an important part of his beliefs. Pawochawog-Mequinosh could choose to be classified as “other,” but would then lose his religious artifacts, the lawsuit claims.

By denying Pawochawog-Mequinosh’s requests, the ACLU claims the DOC violated his right to the free exercise of religion as protected by the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Ventura said all inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions have the right to freely express their religious beliefs, but that liberty may be restricted for security reasons.

“People’s safety is the top priority here,” Ventura said. “We accommodate numerous forms of worship and religious practices, like religious dietary preferences, religious services, personal contact with accredited representatives of their faith, deliver sermons, and more.” 

The ACLU calls on the DOC to revise its policies to allow inmates with religious designations who are not in the prison’s computer system to be able to freely practice their beliefs.

“[The] DOC has no reason to treat a Native American who wants to wear a headband to express his religious faith any differently than it treats Muslims and Jews who want to wear kufis and yarmulkes to express their faith,” said Jared Goldstein, director of the RWU Law Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic.

The ACLU also demands Pawochawog-Mequinosh obtain a headband without having to give up his rune stones and tarot cards, which is all the Apache inmate said he wants.

“I don’t feel that this is too much to ask for,” Pawochawog-Mequinosh said in a statement.