When the pandemic hit, Washington's prison powwow program was put on hold as were some of the other spiritual activities to which Native American inmates had access. Now, the powwows are back.
Dancers make their grand entry into a meeting room at the start of a powwow in late October at the Airway Heights Corrections Center, near Spokane, Wash.Dancers make their grand entry into a meeting room at the start of a powwow in late October at the Airway Heights Corrections Center, near Spokane, Wash.AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — Inmate James Rousseau remembers the last powwow he attended at the Airway Heights Corrections Center, a few miles west of Spokane, Wash.
"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," said Gabe Galanda, a Seattle attorney and member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of California.
"It really did boil down to the protocols and working with the Department of Health, working with our own epidemiologist and, really, we were threading through a needle to make these powwows go," said state Corrections Secretary Cheryl Strange. Prison officials had to work quickly to make it happen. There were a lot of logistical details, said Kay Heinrich, the associate superintendent of programs at Airway Heights. 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.
When the powwow begins, the dancers make their grand entry into the meeting room. The first few men carry large flags. Several dancers wear colorful regalia and shake tiny bells on their costumes as they move to the beat set by the small group of drummers in the center of the room. The dancers circle around them, each moving in their own way, some exerting great amounts of effort.
Richard Dennison is one of the younger men. He wears borrowed powder blue and white regalia and a blue bandanna. He's from the Spokane Tribe and grew up around powwows, but drifted away from them as he got older. "We pay for things like food. Many of these celebrations have salmon and even buffalo served. Wild rice rather than what would be commodity food," he said."We pay for the regalia and beads and other things that are needed to sew and prepare giveaways."
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