Jeffrey Truax, CM 5942
The Investigation was a farce. The prison administration
had pre-arranged what was to be done to the Native Americans. About a week
after the men had been "under investigation," but before any of them had
been questioned and eight days before any of them were cited with misconduct,
a DOC employee, who must remain confidential, informed the prisoners that
their fates had been decided. Each of them was going to get 30 days in
the hole and, at least two of them were going to be transferred out of
the prison.
This is the story of how this incident came about. Sometime
way back in August of 1996 the SCI-Smithfield administration hired a self-professed,
but apparently fraudulent, Native American Contract Chaplain, Brandy Myers.
Ms Myers supposedly operates a community in Western Pennsylvania formed
as a not-for-profit corporation. She was able to clear the background check
that the prison seems to have had run on her.
Ms Myers claims to be Indian. She claims affiliation with
the Cherokee Native Peoples, but neither the Eastern Band or the Western
Band reports having her on their roles or of knowing of her.
Once confronted with these assertions, Ms Myers claimed
to be an Apache.
The woman does not appear to be an Indian and the documents
she is using appear to be fraudulent.
This struggle is not really about an alleged petition.
It is about the violation of the inmates' guarantee of freedom of religion.
It is about fraud and ineffective Native American spiritual practice policies.
What the Native Americans have received for three years
is a lot of "New Age" teachings, but none of the required traditional Native
practices.
Starting in the Fall of 1997, various members of the prison's
Native American community complained through the established but ineffective
prison channels about Ms Myers. Outside groups such as the American Indian
Movement corresponded with the prison administration asking that they review
Ms Myers' appointment.
In June of 1998 the prison Treatment Manager, Michael
Knott, attended a meeting of the Native American community. He let the
inmates understand that if they continued to try to effect the removal
of Ms. Myers and/or to affect prison policy toward Indians, it would be
one hell of a long time before those inmates would have another spiritual
advisor or a religious program at SCI-Smithfield.
At the end of April 1999, Ms Myers announced that she
was removing the sacred herb sage from the ceremony. Sage is essential
in Native American purification.
Acting in good faith on information Ms Myers had given
to the circle, and believing that her contract was up for renewal, the
men wanted to exercise their right under the DOC approved by-laws. They
wanted to vote on her continuing or departing as spiritual advisor. She
demanded that if they voted, they must also include their rationale for
their votes and sign their vote sheets. On 4 May 1999, the members voted
for her removal. The twelve votes, each on an individual sheet, not in
the form of a group petition, were individually signed. Ms Myers demanded
that the vote sheets be given directly to the chief of the religion department,
a Christian named Bowen.
Mr. Bowen apparently packaged the vote sheets tougher
and forwarded them to the prison Intelligence Captain, Robert Glenny. The
following day, all twelve men who had voted for Ms Myer's removal were
seized and locked-down. Much of their personal property including vital
legal records and documents, along with personal photographs and letters,
were destroyed or "lost." All of it was mixed together in a hodgepodge.
When Glenny and his subordinate, a Lieutenant Kominski,
finally questioned the prisoners, the whole investigation consisted of
threats of punishment. Each man was bullied in an effort to have him pretend
that the vote sheets were a petition. The men were coerced in an effort
to have them say who had typed the vote sheets. The investigators were
not interested in the facts, only in imposing their scenario on the Native
Americans. They would not even review the Indians' evidence.
Finally, on 13 May 1999 all the Indians were given misconduct
reports and a few days later they were sentenced to the 30 days that they
had been told to expect from the beginning. It turned out that they had
been told to expect from the beginning. It turned out that the two who
would be transferred as punishment for their voting were James Brooks and
Gerald Tobery. As a result of the misconduct reports, all the inmates will
also be denied parole.
These Native Americans are praying and remaining strong;
struggling simply to secure their right to worship their faith. To those
still in the hole awaiting transfer; stay strong, Brothers.
Keep your spirit in the wind.
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