Prisoner in Texas Requests Help to Obtain Songs and Cultural Materials

From: Esperidian J. Herrera #1002822, Polunsky Unit, 3872 FM 350 South, Livingston, TX 77351
I am practically alone in this system and feel lost to my ways. Forgetting songs and tribal colors. Things which I am not constantly around, like when I was back home in Oklahoma.

I would like to find someone, like a spiritual advisor, who can send me songs and help inform me of Comanche/Kiowa cultural ways, tribal issues, etc. I am asking for help because of the extreme restrictions placed on us in TDCJ-ID.

I thank you whole-heartedly for any help that can be provided.



Date: 8/1/2003

From NAPS

I am not a Spiritual adviser, although I have my own spirituality, but I would be willing to write to this man as a friend and research on my puter some of what he is searching for.
Dee

Thank you so much for being so kind as to write to this man, too! I'm very grateful that you're going to write to both of these people.

Sent one out to him today
Dee

I received a letter today from Esperidian. He seems in good health, is in maximum lock down. He wrote a 4 page letter right away, and sent a photo.
Dee

I'm so glad you contacted him and that he wrote back. Thanks also for letting me know you heard from him. You're so good to be reaching out to help him!

My husband who is Cherokee Indian said to post here that he will do his best to get all the tribal information on the Camanche /Kiowa.

Signed by him... Black Crow

Thank you Kyla, and tell your husband thank you as well! Is he going to write to this man? If so, I'm sure Esperidian will be very excited to receive a letter all the way from Australia.

yep, his writing a letter today, and posting it out tomorrow. I will write him a letter to put in with my husbands letter as well. My husband says we have to look after our brothers.

thats great this inmate is a great pen-pal, we have written 3, 4 letters back and forth and he really appreciates it.
Dee

Thanks Lucidity, maybe you can give him a heads up that we sent him a letter.

Hau kola's

In this matters it is nothing but wonderful that people are more than willing to help by writing but this man's creed goes beyond that and in such matters to contact both the comanche and Kiowa tribal councils/offices would be appropriate as then there might be a spiritual advisor,a holy man or other with the knowledge he is seeking willing to help out. This is often a problem when a sis or bro is incarecrated away from their people and have to take on intertribal ways instead of their very own. They do suffer from low self-esteem and to be stripped for ones identity doesnt make it any easier and please be careful to use anything but tribal pages as a source on the internet,as there is so much strange to be found.
Pila Maye for reading this
Walk in beauty
Mitakuye oyasin

I have been writing to "Indio" as he prefers to be called. He is in Max. Lockdown, and yes, he does need people with knowledge of his culture and religion to write to him. He is very appreciative of all letters he receives. I encourage anyone who is considering writing to him to do so. he is a great pen pal.he is in for a very long time.
Thanks Dee

Still writing to him, and encourage others to do so too.
Dee

I am still trying to get Indio's registration number/card that was taken from him in prison. Someone was working on this, I lost the correct email, so if your familiar with this man please respond to me either here or email me. Thanks is advance
Dee

Has anyone heard from Indio? I havn't got a letter in over 3 weeks and I am getting worried.
thanks
Dee

well, I finaly got a letter after a month. They have put him in restrictive custody, and confiscated his things. When he got his stuff back, most of it was missing, including the radio he got for Xmas, and enjoyed listening to the Prison radio show.
Not only is he NOT receiving religious advise or ceremonies being Native, now they have taken away his belongings, some which were Native information.
Is there a Native advocate that can help me look into this?
Thanks
Dee