Activists concerned with cases that, unlike Trapp v. Dubois, were not resolved in a positive settlement, have gone so far as to bring their cause to the United Nations, issuing a statement asserting that restrictions on religious practice in prison amount to a violation of guidelines established by the UN Human Rights Commission. Led by Lenny Foster, a longtime advocate of Native rights in prison, working with the International Indian Treaty Council submitted these grievances concerning the treatment of Native prisoners.
Denial of access to traditional religious and spiritual ceremonies and services is a violation of human and constitutional rights and is tantamount to a denial of opportunity for recovery and spiritual healing. I therefore recommend that the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples seek compliance with and enforcement through the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the free exercise of religion as an important human and civil right for Native prisoners.
Text from “The Significance of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” 20121“The Significance of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Indigenous Action, April 30, 2012.
This issue has slowly gained national attention and has been taken up in earnest by groups like the Native American Rights Fund.
