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Oregon prison holds its first powwow

Inmates, members of tribes participate at Umatilla facility

By PHIL WRIGHT, East Oregonian
Published: August 21, 2016, 9:57pm

UMATILLA, Ore. (AP) — People sang, danced and drummed Saturday in Umatilla, behind the high prison fence.

Two Rivers Correctional Institution held its first powwow, attended by 63 inmates, more than 50 guests and 27 representatives from American Indian tribes and organizations. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and others provided salmon, huckleberries and traditional foods for the event. Prison administrators even directed staff overseeing the powwow to forgo uniforms for a more casual approach, including khakis, polos and shorts.

Naomi Strawser arrived in tribal regalia representing Lakota Oyate Ki, an American Indian culture club that originated with inmates at Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem. She said she advocates for alternative forms of justice and the need for Indian inmates to have a relationship with their culture. Without that, she said, they don’t know who they are. Building those bonds, though, connects them to a greater community.

“I think it helps give heart and hope,” she said. “This gives people a road back home.”

Inmate Paul Stover echoed that notion. He is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and handled most of the smudging, or cleansing ceremony, for participants and guests.

“I know for me, it’s one of my Zens,” he said, “it takes me away from inside these walls.”

TRCI already has a sweat lodge and a beadworking program, he said.

Two Rivers chaplain Jaime Cardona said planning the powwow took almost a year and served as an incentive for inmates to behave and work toward a goal. Many of the men taking part in the ceremony invited family, Cardona said, and they did not want to get in trouble and then miss out on their culture and their loved ones.

Patricia Jordan is executive director of Red Lodge Transitional Services, a nonprofit that helps American Indians leaving prisons make better lives for themselves. Two Rivers officials and inmates said Jordan was instrumental in making the powwow a reality. She has been a religious services volunteer with the Oregon Department of Corrections for 16 years and help prisons start American Indian programs.

“We believe that culture is best practice,” she said. Jordan said that helps Indian inmates find an identity and a path out of crime and addiction.

She and fellow Red Lodge volunteers Mable Jackson and Sarah Franks also made fry bread Saturday for the festivities. And Sunday they head to Ontario for a powwow at Snake River Correctional Institution.

Franks recalled a speaker at another prison powwow who encouraged inmates to join the dance circle. He told the crowd that not joining the circle is what landed them in prison in the first place.

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