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| Montana’s new Indian prisons liaison talks goals |
| By charkoosta.com |
| Published: 01/03/2014 |
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The American Indian liaison for the state Department of Corrections says he’s working to provide cultural awareness to agency staffers and to help Native American inmates prepare for their release. Harlan Trombley told the Great Falls Tribune (http://gftrib.com/1ad53Qh ) that after a month in the job, he’s found that corrections staff often don’t understand traditional practices such as smudging, when herbs are burned so the smoke can be used as a cleansing agent. “They don’t know what that is or why it’s being done,” Trombley said. “A lot of what I want to do is to provide that cultural awareness.” Trombley’s job is to make sure inmates who want to participate in such ceremonies have the materials and permission they need, said Corrections Director Mike Batista. American Indians make up 17 percent of the population of offenders supervised by Montana’s correctional system, but are just 7 percent of state residents. Thirty-five percent of women imprisoned in Montana are Indians, while Native Americans make up 21 percent of women offenders in the corrections system _ which also includes alternative programs such as drug treatment facilities. Read More. |
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