By Brita Brookes, Detroit, Michigan

After submitting my request for a federal background check to obtain permission to attend the Milan Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) traditional gathering as a freelance journalist, a week later I am walking towards the visitor’s entrance to the prison. Razor wire on top of the perimeter fence, a brick watchtower, and dark opaque glass windows greet me. I am signing in with the security team and fill out the visitor’s official form, empty my pockets and walk through the metal detector into a holding area that has doors with steel bars on both sides. I feel naked without my camera, my loyal “witness” who has been with me across the country, no cameras allowed, per federal regulation. Instead, I have a notepad and a felt tip marker, a new friend, but just not as reliable as my Cannon Rebel.

Slowly more people show up for the Pow Wow as visitor volunteers and we are all put in the holding area. We are cracking jokes and having small quiet conversations to ease the sterile feeling of the room we are in. “Wow, I can’t believe they let you in” cracks one of the participants as they make it through security, we all burst out laughing. But then reality hits as we are led down the many long white hallways to the interior of the prison, door after door being locked and opened and locked as we progress deeper into the penitentiary. Everybody gets real quiet and the walk becomes silent. “It’s a low level security prison, everything is fine,” I think to myself as I walk, “gosh I wonder what a high level facility feels like, because this does not feel good to be in?” We then enter a large room where we will have the gathering.

“We can all shake hands here, we are all friends” says the MC as he stands before the room of twenty-eight inmates and thirty or so community visitors during the opening remarks for the 2009 Milan, Michigan FCI “Honoring Our Family” Traditional Gathering Pow Wow.

Now, I am standing in the Milan, Michigan FCI multi-denominational room for the start of the 2009 Prison Pow Wow and ceremony, and I am thinking about how we are all the same, a common people, yet there was a small amount of nervous hesitation and tension in the air.

On one side of the large room stand all the inmates in a row, in tan colored, standard issue uniforms appearing hesitant yet attentive. On the other side of the room stand myself and all the dancers in their colorful regalia clustered together in groups of men and women. Upon the MC’s call for handshakes, both sides of the room just stand and stare at each other for a brief moment in time that feels like a million years.

Finally, like a pebble falling into a pond, a woman dancer walks over in her traditional regalia and shakes hands with a row of inmates and suddenly everybody follows. The room breaks out in a ripple of handshakes across the still waters and the Pow Wow officially begins. “That’s why we do ceremony and prayer” says inmate Robert Plenty Chief from The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “When we pray together here in this place, our prayers go out like ripples in a pond to the outside, to our family, to our people. It’s our way of life. Prayer for us is not something we just do on Sundays, for us and our culture, prayer is something we do every day, and it’s a way of living, a way of life.”

The Pow Wow gathering at the prison is held every year and is part of the prison’s commitment to providing for the religious rights and freedoms for their Native American prisoners. The gathering is organized and planned each year by Native American inmates at the facility, the Milan FCI volunteer coordinator, Eric Cox the prisoner’s religious services advocate and longtime community member Anne Bush.

For inmates like Robert Plenty Chief, this is his second Pow Wow in Milan prison, but it’s just a part of what he says are “many years of being on the Pow Wow trail. Pow Wows are part of a way of life for me and my people.” When asked about how important it is for him to have this ceremony and gathering he says “it is very important, this gathering gives us spiritual strength and creates a feeling of unity among all of us as brothers even though we may come from different tribes and nations.”

The Native American inmates at Milan prison are from a diverse group of places. Depending on their status in the penal system they all end up together at this particular prison based on the security level needed. As introductions commence in the circle of people standing, I hear the following places stated as home- “Hawaii, White Earth, Standing Rock, Oglala, Bay Mills, North Carolina, Arizona, Menominee and Yankton”

Religious freedom for Native Americans who are incarcerated has been ruled in the U.S. court system to be protected by the U.S. Constitution, mainly that of the First Amendment, Eighth Amendment and the Native American Religious Freedom Act of 1978. Thankfully, here at Milan FCI with the help of volunteers, it appears that the inmates’ relationship to higher powers is of a good nature. Historically legal issues in other cases and facilities have arisen whereupon native inmates have been severely limited if not completely forbidden to practice their spiritual beliefs. The main issue appearing in the court system is usually one of being that of a “security concern” and then proving that a particular practice is a threat to the institution’s security in the courtroom.

With the leadership of Eric Cox from the Creek Nation, who is the outside volunteer prison ceremonies advocate, Milan FCI has been able to provide spiritual support for its Native American inmates. Eric participates in heading up the prison ceremonies and oversees the needs of the inmates. When asked if the prisoners have the traditional four medicines in their ceremony, Eric says “there is tobacco, sage, sweet grass and cedar at ceremony. We also have a pipe keeper and have a pipe ceremony at every sweat which occurs once a week. The pipe keeper has a permit and keeps the pipe in his locker.”

Every Tuesday, the inmates partake in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony which includes an inmate fire keeper. “We rotate who is fire keeper in order to allow each of our brothers to partake in sweating. To fire keep is a great responsibility and we all take it seriously. I am the pipe keeper for these ceremonies as well” stated Robert Plenty Chief. “I keep the chanupa in my locker with a permit attached to it so those who work in the prison who may not know what it is, can see the permit, and know that it is sacred and not to be tampered with or touched.”

The Milan FCI Volunteer Coordinator clarified that at this particular facility, they currently hold ceremonies for 12 religious faiths. “Each religious faith gets an equal time in its ceremony and services and this keeps our religious volunteer coordination staff very busy” stated the Coordinator.

Inmate Calvin Cross from the Pine Ridge, Oglala Reservation was also supportive of the efforts to have ceremony at the prison and says that “every Wednesday we all have a traditional smudging ceremony and prayer. This helps me purify, stay strong, positive and stay out of trouble. It gives me a way to vent any anger and ask creator for strength and also it creates for hope for me. Because I know creator is listening and I can express these thoughts at ceremony rather than being all trapped inside like my body in this place, my spirit can fly and stay strong.”

Robert Plenty Chief explains, “we are “ikce’ wichasa”, or ‘common man’ and having these spiritual ceremonies helps to create unity here, a brotherhood that is all walking the Red Road.”

When I asked Robert and Calvin if they had any particular message for the youth today who are not in prison, but may be thinking about doing something that is risky, both Robert and Calvin express that “it is important for those younger ones to not end up here. We need the younger generation to really try to walk a good path in life, it is not easy though, the Red Road is not supposed to be easy, but it is easier when you are outside with your family and relations than when you are stuck and isolated in here.”

When talking to Robert and Calvin there are still many activities and sacred acts that they cannot partake in while incarcerated, “both of us have been Sun Dancers prior to being on the inside, and it’s hard to not be there, so having the ceremonies that we do have here, makes them all that more important.” In addition, keeping traditional language in practice is a challenge as well, “keeping my language skills up is harder here, because I am not using it like I would back home in an immersion situation” stated Robert. “But we do have our songs and that we do practice here as much as possible.”

The Milan FCI Native American men’s drum group is the “Smoke Lodge Singers.” They drum and sing for the dancers along with the visiting drum “Weengush.” The gathering begins with a Grand Entry, then Veterans and Flag Song where eagle staffs and flags are planted and a convocation given. In-between songs the inmate MC provides some pretty funny “Tonto and Lone Ranger” jokes and another inmate who is a Veteran and member of the Kit Fox Warrior Society, provides some opening remarks and yells a loud “Mitakuye Oyasin” and “Wastelo!”

The visiting dancers in regalia start to dance and as the day progresses the dancing goes from a few regalia dancers in the circle to that of crowded inter-tribal dances with inmates and men and women visitors all moving as one, together and equal around the sacred circle. When asked why she attended the Pow Wow at the Prison on a perfectly sunny spring day, Carol Plain a visiting dancer and singer with “Weengush Singers” explains “I came because it is important for prisoners to have culturally appropriate services available to them. These things encourage a good life and open a path of communication of cultural events from the community here to them. After and event like this, they know that they are not alone.”

Another dancer participant Sandy explained that “we should all be brave enough to attend because it’s a positive cultural thing to have. They need us and in return we need them, its not one sided, we are all here together regardless of walls.” While Sandy speaks University of Michigan student and Little Traverse Bay Band Tribe member, Elise McGowen comes over and adds “I talked to my Uncle and he explained that it was important to attend because many Native American inmates may be feeling disconnected from their community, and by having and attending this event you are helping make a connection again and closing the gap in the circle. This is a good thing to do, so I came. If we do not come as volunteers, these men cannot have this ceremony.”

As part of the gathering, the men prepare an incredible traditional feast in the prison mess hall for all of us which consists of ground buffalo, venison, blueberry dipping sauce, fry bread, salad, beans and soup. The traditional meal is served to us by the men who make us feel like family. After the hearty meal together, we all head back to the concluding ceremonies in the Pow Wow area.

As part of the closing ceremony, prisoner’s advocate, Eric Cox expresses a heartfelt thanks to all community members who are present, all the volunteers at Milan FCI and all the men at the prison who did a fantastic job hosting the gathering. After these words of appreciation and acknowledgement, the inmates carefully prepare a give away table filled with beading artwork done by them, including earrings, hair clips, key chains, dream catchers, bracelets and necklaces. Each of us, as visitors, are named and handed a certificate of appreciation from the inmates for partaking in the event and we choose a give away item.

I walk up to choose a vivid yellow, red and blue beaded diamond pattern hair clip and shake hands with the entire circle of fifty or so people, the faces all blur together now, inmate and volunteer standing together. “Miigwetch” I say to those I know who are Ojibwe, “Wopila” I say to those I know are Lakota and “Thank you” to those I don’t know. In any language, it’s a heartfelt thank-you.

Today, a few days later, I wear this new hair clip with pride, and when I look at it or touch it I think of my new brothers at Milan FCI and hope they are well. I know that after spending such a special day together, all of us will be carrying prayers for these warriors, for strength and hope of better days ahead on the Red Road. Prayers that will travel through bricks and mortar, outside along the new green spring grass, across the land, and up to the blue sky, to creator, like many ripples in a large common pond of humanity.

I sit and reflect at the edge of this pond and throw in another pebble. In these ripples of thought I am thinking of the other men and women across the lands that are in a penitentiary, and hope that they are able to practice their spiritual beliefs freely for strength and guidance in a better life while serving time.

One last cast of a pebble, well this one is actually a large boulder, and the ripples turn over small waves which grow larger and larger. I am thinking of Leonard Peltier and pray for his freedom, and while in the “big house”, for his spiritual strength and spiritual freedom. The time he has served has been far too long in contrast to the time all the hundreds of unsolved murders which occurred on the same land have gone un-investigated and whose files lie covered in dust in some back room. I see the tsunami waves of prayers for justice move outwards in circles, beyond the edges of the pond.

Message received. Prayers know no boundaries.