Natives behind prison walls are allowed to have powwows in Washington state again. This restart is happening after a 2-year break due mainly to COVID. After the pandemic took hold, Washington’s prison powwow program was put on hold. Other spiritual activities to which Native American inmates had access were also put on hold.
Throughout the last two-and-a-half years, Washington’s prisons, like others around the country, battled COVID outbreaks among inmates and staff members. The state Department of Corrections reports more than 16,000 confirmed cases.
Eighteen inmates have died due to COVID. The men and women who remained healthy were often isolated in their cells. Those who tested positive were segregated in COVID units on prison grounds. More serious cases were evacuated to outside health care facilities.
For years, prison powwows in Washington were funded by the Department of Corrections. But the state went through budget cuts around the time of the Great Recession in 2008 and the powwows were eliminated.
Natives decided to come together and demand an end to the pause on powwows. A powwow is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures.
The negotiations to bring the powwows back were not easy. Even after progress we’re made, an outbreak would happen then back to the drawing board. Eventually, the agency agreed to stage about 20 powwows in September and October.
The first of the powwows was held on the grounds of the state penitentiary in Walla Walla on September 8. Prison officials had to work quickly to make it happen with a lot of logistical details. The staff perform background checks on visitors and make security arrangements for the outsiders who visit the prison. They also work to make sure the ceremony is culturally appropriate, including the food.
Gabe Galanda, a Seattle attorney and member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of California said, “We were very quick in 2020 to work with the state, upon the advice of indigenous elders, who realized that COVID and sweat lodge, or COVID and anything done in a circle in close confines, would not be compatible.”
