Medicine garden at Washington Corrections Center brings healing and connection for Indigenous inmates

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Prison powwow: Native families connect with their loved ones behind bars

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Washington tribes push for legislative change in prison sentencing: 'There’s been a disproportionate impact'

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Racial disproportionality in ‘juvenile points’ sentences

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Let state judges correct past wrongs on sentences

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House Bill 2065 Would Address Racial Disparities, End Double-Penalizing for Juvenile Offenses

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WA adults serving extra prison time for juvenile offenses may see sentences reduced

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My child’s mother was murdered. And I’ve been to prison. I know what justice is

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His juvenile record added 17 years to his prison time. A new bill would allow him to be resentenced

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End ‘juvenile points’ sentencing that disproportionately harms Indigenous people

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Washington makes a major change to prison sentencing but not for people already behind bars

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WA may end mandatory sentencing points based on juvenile convictions

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Comment: Counting juvenile crimes against adults unjust to many

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Washington lawmakers debate who benefits from juvenile sentencing reforms

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Prosecutor: Sentencing agreement in 1988 double homicide was 'hardest decision'

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Undoing a Life Sentence

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Prison powwows in Washington state restart after a 2-year break because of COVID

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Native inmates in Washington happy to see prison powwows return

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Powwows return to Washington's prisons

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UN Adopts Huy’s Indigenous Prisoner Religious Rights Findings

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the final report of Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, in his capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, was presented at the UN General Assembly in New York.

According to Dr. Shaheed, this report on Indigenous peoples and the right to freedom of religion or belief “is the first time that the UN human rights system has comprehensively engaged with this important yet historically overlooked subject.”

He hopes “that it represents the beginning of a conversation on how to better promote and protect this fundamental right of indigenous peoples worldwide.”

In July 2022, Huy submitted a report to Dr. Shaheed addressing Indigenous prisoners’ religious freedoms in the United States of America. In his final report to the UN General Assembly, Dr. Shaheed cited Huy’s submission:

Interlocutors report that indigenous peoples' overrepresentation in criminal justice processes globally frequently affects their ability to exercise spirituality. Banning indigenous spiritual practices in prisons—including sweat-lodge, pipe and drum ceremonies, growing of long hair, and "smudging"—may hinder traditional healing, intergenerational transfer of knowledge, rehabilitation, and "cultural survival" upon release. 

Additionally, Dr. Shaheed’s recommendations for states include, first and foremost:

Establish legal and policy frameworks that recognize the right of indigenous peoples to their beliefs and comprehensively promote and protect their rights—drawing on UNDRIP specifically—including freedom of religion or belief. To this end, regularly review and revise such frameworks to tackle discrimination, undue restrictions on spiritual manifestations, and impediments to access and use of their lands.

 Huy’s report was prepared by pro bono counsel, Akilah Kinnison, of Hobbs Straus Dean & Walker.