PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Corrections has agreed to allow a Native American inmate to wear an religious, Apache headband in a state prison, after reaching a settlement in a federal lawsuit filed last year.
Under the agreement, Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh will be permitted to wear the headband at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, R.I., and was awarded $40,000 for attorneys’ fees, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the Roger Williams University Law School Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic, which filed the lawsuit on his behalf in January 2024.
The Department of Corrections is also required to adopt a process within 120 days that allows “all prisoners whose religion is not specifically recognized by the agency to seek approval to obtain religious items and attend religious services consistent with their religion,” the ACLU said in a statement.
“This case reflects a fundamental principle: People in prison may lose their liberty but they cannot be deprived of their humanity, and the free exercise of religion is a basic human right,” Jared Goldstein, director of the litigation clinic, said in a statement.
According to the lawsuit, Pawochawog-Mequinosh was raised in the spiritual tradition of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and the headband “expresses his sincere religious beliefs arising from the Apache tradition.”
While Muslim and Jewish prisoners were allowed to wear kufis and yarmulkes, the Department of Corrections “had repeatedly denied Wolf‘s requests for a headband on the grounds that his religion was designated as ‘Pagan/Wiccan’ in RIDOC’s data management system,” the ACLU said.
”RIDOC’s system does not include a religious designation for adherents of Native American religious traditions,” the ACLU said.
The lawsuit was filed under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, “which bars states from imposing any substantial burden on a prisoner’s exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling interest and is the least restrictive means available,” the ACLU said.
In a statement, the state Department of Corrections said the settlement “will result in the dismissal” of the lawsuit with “no fault attributed to RIDOC.”
“The wearing of headbands and access to various religious items without reasonable and legally permissible limitations raises several security concerns with RIDOC’s facilities, as these items can be repurposed in ways that could present a safety risk to staff and the incarcerated population,” the department said. “However, an agreement was reached which allows RIDOC to maintain security and minimize safety risks while permitting the Plaintiff to wear an approved headband and access approved items in accordance with his religious beliefs and applicable policies.”
Department of Corrections Director Wayne T. Salisbury Jr. said the agency believes in “maintaining a constitutional and balanced approach to security when enacting protocols and procedures.”
“I am pleased we were able to work with our counterparts to resolve this matter in a way that both acknowledges the constitutional rights of our population and preserves our efforts to maintain safety in our secure facilities,” Salisbury said in a statement.
Pawochawog-Mequinosh was formerly known as Brian Brownell and legally changed his name in 2022, according to the ACLU.
Pawochawog-Mequinosh received his name from an Apache elder when he was a child, and “changing his legal name was important to him because it connected him to his ‘spirituality, religion, and history,’” the organization said.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
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