MD's Eagle Speak Society Requests Sweat Lodge

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Eagle Speak Society renews request for Sweat Lodge

Eagle Speak Society, a congregation of Native American devotees at Eastern Correctional Institution, Westover, MD, have submitted a renewed request for accommodation of sweat lodge ceremony to the Dr. William Sondervan, Maryland's Commissioner of the Division of Corrections. Previous requests for sweat lodge have been routinely denied for "reasons of security"; however, preliminary talks with DOC suggest that the state may now be ready to show progress in this concern. Maryland currently recognizes and accommodates Native American spirituality in its religious program services and has acknowledged that sweat lodge practice is a vital component of this traditional, indigenous faith and practice. The state's rejection of sweat lodge ceremony centers on the fact that sweat lodge ceremonies are conducted "out of sight & out of hearing." Advocates point to the prevailing legal standard of "least restrictive means" for the burden of religious practice for the assurance of compelling government interests such as safety and security but hold that the continuing outright ban of sweat lodge is, by definition, the most restrictive means; further, that "out of sight & out of hearing" is not a security concern but a security policy and that it is that policy which has to be measured against the standard. In fact, Eagle Speak Society's request explicitly invites the state to burden sweat lodge practice with administrative controls in order to preserve the integrity of its ceremonies, but says the state should regard such burdens with consideration for actual circumstances. Eagle Speak's request includes a number of specific controls to assure that sweat lodge operates in a manner consistent with the good order of the institution. A copy of the complete text of Eagle Speak's request is available upon request from womiles@aol.com.

Date: 8/20/2003

From NAPS website

[tdenise]

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