God Bless America

Where else would you find Indian sweat lodges for prisoners?

In the middle of the dirt floor, a pit had been dug and filled with rocks left in fire so long that any cracks glowed red. Cedar chips were thrown on the rocks, giving off a fragrance, and then lavender, sage and sweet grass.

...

The inmates in this traditional Indian sweat lodge in this most untraditional setting were practicing Native American spirituality at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in northern Connecticut. With roughly 2,000 inmates, MacDougall-Walker is the state's largest prison, a maximum security facility that is home to some of Connecticut's more notorious prisoners.

In this population are about 30 who identify themselves as Native Americans. Like the more than 500 prisoners statewide who declare themselves Native American on admission, whether they truly have a trace of Indian blood, an entire lineage or not one legitimate drop is of no concern to prison officials here, who find religious pursuit a productive use of inmate time and also have been pressed by the courts to be even more open to it.