ACLU and RWU Law School Clinic sue over ACI’s failure to accommodate Native American prisoner’s religious freedom

“I just want to be able to practice my religion and to be able to use the artifacts for my religion without unjustified restrictions, like other religions are permitted to do."

Update May 7, 2025:

ACLU AND RWU LAW SCHOOL CLINIC SETTLE SUIT OVER ACI’S FAILURE TO ACCOMMODATENATIVE AMERICAN PRISONER’S RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

The ACLU of Rhode Island announced today the favorable settlement of a lawsuit that challenged the Rhode Island Department of Corrections’ (RIDOC) restrictive policies governing the religious freedom of people incarcerated at the ACI and, in particular, the agency’s refusal to accommodate the religious practices of a Native American prisoner. The settlement includes an award of $40,000 in attorneys’ fees.

The lawsuit, filed by Jared Goldstein, Director of the Roger Williams University Law Prisoners’ Rights Clinic, and ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger, had argued that RIDOC’s refusal to allow prisoner Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh to wear an Apache headband, along with its policy of delegating to itself decisions as to what religiousbeliefs and practices align with an inmate’s religious designation, violated his rights under a federal law that protects the religious freedom of incarcerated individuals. The lawsuit noted that RIDOC allows Muslim and Jewish prisoners to wear kufis and yarmulkes.

Under the settlement agreement, in addition to the award of attorneys’ fees, RIDOC has agreed to allow Wolf to wear the requested headband. More broadly, RIDOC is also required within 120 days to adopt a process to allow all prisoners whose religion is not specifically recognized by the agency to seek approval to obtain religious items and attend religious services consistent with their religion. The case will remain open until the agency complies with that requirement.

RIDOC had repeatedly denied Wolf’s requests for a headband on the grounds that his religion was designated as “Pagan/Wiccan” in RIDOC’s data management system and an Apache headband was not an approved religious item for people with that designation and, further, Apache headbands had not been approved as a religious item in any RIDOC facility. But the lawsuit pointed out that RIDOC’s system does not include a religious designation for adherents of Native American religious traditions, and the designation chosen unlawfully determined “the religious observances [prisoners] will be allowed to attend and the religious items they will be allowed to obtain.”

The suit was brought under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which bars states from imposing any substantial burden on a prisoner’s exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling interest and is the least restrictive means available. In 2021, Wolf, formerly known as Brian Brownell, filed apetition in state court to change his name to express his Apache heritage and faith. He noted that he was given the name Pawochawog-Mequinosh as a child by an Apache elder, and that changing his legal name was important tohim because it connected him to his “spirituality, religion, and history.” The petition to change his name was granted a year later.

Attorney Goldstein said today: “This case reflects a fundamental principle: People in prison may lose their liberty but they cannot be deprived of their humanity, and the free exercise of religion is a basic human right. Today’s settlement is a first step in getting the Department of Corrections to accommodate Native American religion, as the law requires. Now that Wolf has his headband, we look forward to RIDOC’s adoption of new policies that will more broadly allow Native Americans imprisoned at the ACI to be able to practice their religious traditions to the same extent that Christian, Jewish, and other prisoners can practice theirs.”

The original press release:

In a case that challenges the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) restrictive policies governing the religious freedom of people incarcerated at the ACI, cooperating attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today filed a federal lawsuit against DOC officials for refusing to accommodate the religious practices of a Native American prisoner.

The lawsuit, filed by Jared Goldstein, Director of the RWU Law Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic, and ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger, argues that RIDOC’s refusal to allow the prisoner to wear an Apache headband, along with its policy of deciding what religious beliefs and practices align with the person’s religious designation, violates his rights under a federal law designed to protect the religious freedom of incarcerated individuals.

The plaintiff, Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh, is Native American and was raised in the spiritual tradition of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Wolf believes that wearing the headband “expresses his sincere religious beliefs arising from the Apache tradition.” The lawsuit notes that the DOC allows Muslim and Jewish prisoners to wear kufis and yarmulkes and that Native American headbands are recognized as a religious item by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Nonetheless, RIDOC has repeatedly denied Wolf’s requests for a headband because his religion is designated as “Pagan/Wiccan” in RIDOC’s data management system and an Apache headband is not an approved religious item for people with that designation and, further, Apache headbands have not been approved as a religious item in any RIDOC facility. However, the lawsuit points out that RIDOC’s system does not include a religious designation for adherents of Native American religious traditions, and the designation chosen “determines the religious observances [prisoners] will be allowed to attend and the religious items they will be allowed to obtain.”

Wolf chose the Pagan/Wiccan designation because it allows him to obtain rune stones and tarot cards, which are also an important part of his religious beliefs. If he chose the catch-all designation of “other” as his religion, as some officials suggested he do, he would lose his right to have tarot cards and rune stones. He would still likely be denied the right to wear a headband anyway since it is not approved as a religious item at the ACI.

The lawsuit claims that, by denying his right to wear an Apache headband and “restricting the ability of individuals like Wolf to practice religion when their practices do not fit within the limited and rigid religious designation RIDOC employs,” the agency has violated Wolf’s right to the free exercise of religion as protected by the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. That law bars states from imposing any substantial burden on a prisoner’s exercise of religion unless it furthers a compelling interest and is the least restrictive means available.

The lawsuit reviews the four times that Wolf filed grievances with the prison administration to seek the right to obtain a headband and the Kafkaesque responses they elicited, including rejections of his appeals twice because he did not follow proper procedures in filing his grievance, but without explaining what he had done improperly.

The suit seeks a court order allowing Wolf to “obtain and wear an Apache headband, without giving up his ability to practice other aspects of his sincere religious beliefs, including by possessing and using rune stones and tarot cards,” whether or not they align with his religious designation in DOC’s system. The suit also requests the issuance of an injunction ordering RIDOC to “revise its policies and procedures to allow individuals whose religious beliefs and practices do not fit within RIDOC’s system of religious designations to exercise their sincere religious beliefs and practices even when those beliefs and practices do not align with the beliefs and practices that RIDOC has approved for the religious designations.”

In 2021, Wolf, formerly Brian Brownell, filed a petition in state court to change his name to express his Apache heritage and faith. He noted that an Apache elder gave him the name Pawochawog-Mequinosh as a child and that changing his legal name was important to him because it connected him to his “spirituality, religion, and history.” The petition was granted a year later.

“I just want to be able to practice my religion and to be able to use the artifacts for my religion without unjustified restrictions, like other religions are permitted to do,” said Wolf. “I don’t feel that this is too much to ask for.”

“This should be a simple case,” noted Attorney Goldstein. “DOC has no reason to treat a Native American who wants to wear a headband to express his religious faith any differently than it treats Muslims and Jews who want to wear kufis and yarmulkes to express their faith. DOC needs to change its policies that put all incarcerated people into specific religious categories and that makes no allowances for people like Wolf who don’t fit into these categories.”

“Wolf Pawochawog-Mequinosh observes the spiritual and religious tradition of the White Mountain Apache Tribe,” added ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Lynette Labinger. “His efforts to obtain simple religious items to practice his faith should not consume four years and require a federal court lawsuit. Fortunately, federal law and the First Amendment require that even in prison, the custodians do not get to dictate what is an accepted religion and how it should be practiced.”