Native groups file Supreme Court brief on prisoners’ religious freedom

The National Congress of American Indians, Huy and the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 3 in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Represented by the Native American Rights Fund and Hobbs, Straus, Dean, and Walker LLP, the groups urged the court to allow stronger remedies for incarcerated people whose religious freedom is violated.

The brief highlights how forced haircuts infringe on Native religious practice, noting that unshorn hair is essential to ceremonies for many Native people. It argues that such practices echo federal assimilation policies of the 19th and 20th centuries and continue to harm Native identity. More than 29,500 American Indians and Alaska Natives are incarcerated in the United States, according to the brief. NARF Staff Attorney Sydney Tarzwell said allowing damages against prison officials could help protect religious freedom.