We are asking you to halt the desecration of the Sweat Lodge at San Quentin State Prison. We demand the religious rights of Native American inmates be respected in accordance with the federal Constitution, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Historical and Religious Significance of the Sweat Lodge at San Quentin

Sweat lodge ceremonies are a sacred, fundamental religious practice for Native Americans for prayer, cleansing, and purification. These ceremonies are necessary for the continued spiritual well-being of Native American inmates that cannot be replaced by prayer alone.

The Sweat Lodge at San Quentin came into existence after significant local and national organizing with Native American spiritual leaders, community members, and political activists, including the American Indian Movement. On February 11, 1978, in response to decades of policies whittling down the civil rights of Native Americans, a peaceful transcontinental march for Native American justice began. The “Longest Walk” started with 2,000 people departing on foot from Alcatraz Island-San Francisco, California, and ended five months later over 3,000 miles away on July 15, 1978, in Washington, D.C., joined by 30,000 marchers. On August 11, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) into law, with the express intention to protect the rights of Native Americans to practice their native traditional religions.

After AIRFA, that same year in 1978, the sacred Sweat Lodge at San Quentin was the first sweat lodge in the nation established at a state or federal prison—as such, it holds special historical significance. The Sweat Lodge at San Quentin was built under the religious authority of Native American spiritual leader Archi Fire Lame-Deer (Lakota-Sioux) who was sent by elders to light the ceremonial fire at San Quentin and build the Sweat Lodge in coordination with the CDCR. This sparked other prisons to build sacred sweat lodges across the country.

Directives by San Quentin Administrators to Native American Spiritual Leader, Mr. Hector Frank Heredia, Violate the Religious Rights of Native American Inmates and CDCR regulations

After serving the San Quentin community for nearly thirty years, Mr. Hector Frank Heredia, the Native American Spiritual Leader at San Quentin State Prison, was told that due to a 2019 change in designation at San Quentin to a “non-designated facility”, he must allow anyone, including non-Native American inmates, to participate in the Sweat Lodge ceremony without following the proper religious protocols for admission. Heredia has been told that despite his position (statutorily on par with other religious Chaplains) he lacks any authority to determine who can participate in the Sweat Lodge.

This is in direct violation of the constitutional protections afforded by the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) which “protects the sincerely held religious rights of prisoners.”

The San Quentin Administration lacks the authority to change how the Native American Spiritual Leader operates the Native American Sweat Lodge, which is a legislatively protected religious space according to the California Code of Regulations and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Operations Manual. “To insist that Mr. Heredia must allow non-Native American inmates to participate in the Sweat Lodge ceremony without meeting any requirement or prior approval from the Native American Spiritual Leader with the authority to conduct the ceremony impermissibly infringes on the religious rights of Native American inmates,” Water Protector Legal Collective’s Legal Director Natali Segovia wrote in an April 28, 2022, letter to Warden Broomfield. WPLC asked for a meeting to discuss the issues and ask to immediately halt the assault on the spiritual practices of incarcerated Native Americans and actions that violate the Sweat Lodge sacred rituals and its past practices. There has been no response to the inquiry.

On March 5, 2022, unknown inmates desecrated it by stealing prayer ties filled with ceremonial tobacco and by attempting to take over the Sweat Lodge grounds for impermissible uses. Due to this desecration, the Sweat Lodge at San Quentin was taken down. under the guidance of other spiritual elders including renowned Lakota spiritual leader, Arvol Looking Horse. A new lodge will be built under the appropriate protocols.

This desecration of the Sweat Lodge at San Quentin State Prison and violation of constitutionally protected rights of Native American inmates extends beyond the fences of San Quentin and is one of national importance to Native American organizations and faith-based organizations around the country that stand in solidarity with Native American inmates at San Quentin.

The undersigned, in solidarity with Mr. Heredia and Native American inmates at San Quentin, demand an immediate end to these impermissible directives and halt the desecration of the Sweat Lodge at San Quentin.

Sincerely,

Initiating Organizations

Water Protector Legal Collective

American Indian Movement - West

Northern California North Bay Minority Coalition

California Black-Brown Summit

National Black Baptists Conventions

Southern Baptist Convention

Muslim Leadership

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Stay up to date: waterprotectorlegal.org

Write to Warden Ron Broomfield and CDCR Secretary Kathleen Allison: tinyurl.com/ProtectSanQuentin