Gabe Galanda Honored by WSBA for Excellence in Diversity

Gabe Galanda has been honored with the Excellence in Diversity Award by the Washington State Bar Association. He will be given the award at the WSBA's annual awards dinner in downtown Seattle on September 18, 2014.

Gabe is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of California. He currently sits on the National Native American Bar Association Board of Directors, and is a past President of the Northwest Indian Bar Association and past Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section.  

He is being primarily honored for his work associated with Huy, a non-profit that provides economic, educational, rehabilitative and religious support for American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other indigenous prisoners in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the United States.

In 2012, Gabe founded Huy--pronounced "Hoyt" in the Coast Salish Indian Lushootseed language, to mean "see you again/we never say goodbye."  He serves as the Chairman of Huy's Board of Advisors, and runs the non-profit through his law office.

Huy's most notable recent activities include two amicus curiae efforts before the U.S. Supreme Court, and advocacy before the United Nations and its Human Rights Committee, on behalf of American indigenous prisoners vis-a-vis their fundamental human rights to engage in traditional tribal religious worship.

Gabe is the Managing Partner of Galanda Broadman, PLLC, an American Indian-owned law firm dedicated to advancing and defending Indian rights.  The firm has offices in Seattle, Washington and Bend, Oregon.

Round Valley Lawyer Gabe Galanda Named Indian Country "Visionary"

Richard Walker of the Indian Country Today Media Network published an article titled, "5 Visionaries Who See a Brighter Future for Indian Country," naming Gabe Galanda as one of "five people are rocking the world with their forward thinking, innovation and commitment to social justice."

3. Gabe Galanda, Round Valley Indian Tribes: Paving the Red Road to Recovery for Inmates

The efforts of this Seattle-based lawyer are helping Native Americans in prison to walk the red road to recovery. Galanda formed the nonprofit organization Huy (pronounced “Hoyt”) essentially meaning “I’ll see you later.” (Coast Salish people do not have a word for “goodbye.”) In Washington state, Huy won changes in policies that blocked Native American inmates’ access to traditional religious practices and sacred items.

Huy is lobbying for similar changes nationwide. The organization asked the U.N. Human Rights Committee for an inquiry into restrictions upon Native inmates’ religious freedoms, and appeared as a friend of the court in support of those freedoms. Galanda argues that restricting such freedoms violates federal, state and international law. For some Native inmates, walking the red road while behind bars is the only road to rehabilitation and survival.

“Today’s powwow, everything that we do is to give back, to show our kids and our families that we’re going to work on getting back to those ways, getting back to spirituality and things that matter,” inmate Seymour Ruben told the Cheney Free Press during an August 1 powwow at Airway Heights Corrections Center.

Gabriel "Gabe" Galanda is a partner at Galanda Broadman PLLC, of Seattle, an American Indian owned law firm.  He is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Covelo, California.  Gabe can be reached at 206.300.7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Northwest Tribal Lawyers Litigate To Protect Indian Chief's Grave

As featured on Turtle Talk, Galanda Broadman recently defeated summary judgment in a San Juan Superior Court case in which we are representing tribal member plaintiffs who directly descend from a Lummi/Clallam Chief. The Chief's grave and headstone sits on waterfront fee land on San Juan Island in Washington State, where that ancestor has lied in rest since the year 1900. In December 2012, the tribal plaintiffs allege that the Chief's headstone was disturbed, in violation of the state Indian Graves and Records Act and a covenant running with the land.

The case asks the question: who holds what sticks in the bundle of property rights, regarding an American Indian ancestors grave?

Galanda Broadman, an Indian Country Law Firm, is dedicated to advancing tribal legal rights and Indian business interests.  The firm, with offices in Seattle, Washington and Bend, Oregon, represents tribal governments, businesses and members in critical litigation, business and regulatory matters, especially in matters of Indian Treaty rights, tribal sovereignty and taxation.

National Indian Congress Issues American Indigenous Prisoners' Religious Freedoms Proclamation

In June, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) passed an emergency measure, Resolution #REN-13-005, observing that "the inherent rights of incarcerated Indian peoples’ freedom to believe, express, and exercise traditional indigenous religion, are too frequently violated by federal, state, and local government actors in the United States." Resolution #REN-13-005 was passed in specific reaction to the State of California's "emergency" rulemaking to outlaw various Native American sacred items from religious use in state prisons.

NCAI resolved that it “denounces and opposes any federal, state or local government restrictions placed upon incarcerated Native Peoples’ inherent rights to believe, express, and exercise their traditional religions and practices.”

NCAI further resolved to "call[] upon the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples S. James Anaya, for an investigation into the pervasive pattern in the United States of increasing state and local restrictions on the religious freedoms of incarcerated Native peoples in the United States."

To read NCAI Resolution #REN-13-005, click here.

ATNI Resolves to Protect American Indigenous Prisoners' Religious Freedoms

This week, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) resolved that it "denounces and opposes any inappropriate or illegal federal, state or local government restriction upon incarcerated American Indigenous Peoples’ inherent rights to believe, express, and exercise traditional indigenous religion, including any such restriction that does not advance the shared penological goals of federal, state and American indigenous governments or that was not preceded by meaningful tribal consultation with affected ATNI tribes or other American indigenous governments." ATNI further resolved to denounce and oppose "the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s 'emergency' amendments to Section 3190(b) of the California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Crime Prevention and Corrections, and related regulatory restrictions regarding American Indigenous Peoples’ religious properties and sweatlodge ceremonies, because those state regulations violate federal, state and international law, were promulgated without any consultation with American indigenous governments, and are contrary to the penological interest of rehabilitating incarcerated American Indigenous Peoples."

To read ATNI Resolution #13-63, click here.

Indian Civil Rights Lawyer Gabe Galanda Decries States' Attack on Native Prisoners' Religious Freedoms

Gabe Galanda is quoted in a Native News Network posting, "Tribes & ACLU Team to Support California Indigenous Prisoners' Religious Freedoms," regarding the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's issuance of a provisional "emergency" regulation denying indigenous prisoners access to sacred items used in religious ceremony and access to sweat lodge ceremony.

“We are thrilled that the ACLU joined forces with Indian Country to decry the state of California's violation of indigenous prisoners' human and civil rights to worship in traditional Indian ways,”

said Gabriel Galanda, Chairman of the Huy Board of Advisors.

“Those violations are also now happening in places like Montana, South Dakota and Texas. But those state discriminatory practices are not going unnoticed and they will not stand.”

Gabriel "Gabe" Galanda is a partner at Galanda Broadman PLLC, of Seattle, an American Indian owned law firm.  He is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Covelo, California.  Gabe can be reached at 206.691.3631 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

California ACLU Joins Inter-Tribal Protest of State's Violation of Native Prisoners' Rights

This week, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of California joined an inter-tribal coalition, comprised of Huy, the Round Valley Indian Tribes, the Pit River Tribe, the National Native American Bar Association, and California Indian Legal Services, in formal protest of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's issuance of a provisional "emergency" regulation denying indigenous prisoners access to items used in religious ceremony and access to sweatlodge ceremony. The California ACLU's protest letter is here and Huy's protest letter is here.

This national inter-tribal protest movement was featured by Indian Country Today last week. In short:

In February, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) provisionally outlawed, on a so-called “emergency” basis, American indigenous prisoners’ religious use of: tribal sacred medicines like kinnikinnick, copal, and osha root; indigenous sacred items like pipes and pipe bags, drums and other instruments, and water dippers; and tribal religious necessities like cloth for prayer ties, beads and beading supplies, and animal hides and teeth. It appears the indigenous prisoners’ sweatlodge ceremonies have also been curtailed being reduced from occurring every weekend to only one or two times per month.

Although the public comment deadline has passed, any person, group or tribe can still submit written comments about what remains a proposed CDCR religious property regulation to CDCR, Regulation and Policy Management Branch (RPMB), P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001, or by fax to (916) 324-6075, or by e-mail to RPMB@cdcr.ca.gov. The CDCR will soon consider comments, evaluate proposed alternatives, and issue a final rule.

We continue to urge your written and public comment in opposition to the State of California’s unlawful effort to unduly restrict American indigenous prisoners’ freedom to believe, express and exercise traditional indigenous religion.

For additional information, contact Huy Chairman Gabriel S. Galanda, at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Huy Launches Formal Opposition to Caifornia's Violation of Native Prisoners' Religious Freedoms

Today, Huy joined the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Pit River Tribe Huy, the National Native American Bar Association and others in formal protest of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's issuance of a provisional "emergency" regulation denying indigenous prisoners access to items used in religious ceremony and access to sweatlodge ceremony. Huy's protest letter is here. Huy urges others to do so by written communication or in person by tomorrow, May 7, as outlined below. This national inter-tribal protest movement was featured by Indian Country Today last week. In short:

In February, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) provisionally outlawed, on a so-called “emergency” basis, American indigenous prisoners’ religious use of: tribal sacred medicines like kinnikinnick, copal, and osha root; indigenous sacred items like pipes and pipe bags, drums and other instruments, and water dippers; and tribal religious necessities like cloth for prayer ties, beads and beading supplies, and animal hides and teeth. It appears the indigenous prisoners’ sweatlodge ceremonies have also been curtailed being reduced from occurring every weekend to only one or two times per month.

Any person, group or tribe may submit written comments about what remains a proposed CDCR religious property regulation to CDCR, Regulation and Policy Management Branch (RPMB), P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001, or by fax to (916) 324-6075, or by e-mail to RPMB@cdcr.ca.gov. All written comments must be received by the close of the public comment period this Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 5:00 p.m.

Also, a public hearing will be held this Tuesday, May 7, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Sacramento, specifically in the Kern room, located at 151 S Street, North Building, 95811. The CDCR will then consider comments, evaluate proposed alternatives, and issue a final rule.

We urge your timely written and public comment in opposition to the State of California’s unlawful effort to unduly restrict American indigenous prisoners’ freedom to believe, express and exercise traditional indigenous religion.

For additional information, contact Huy Chairman Gabriel S. Galanda, at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Round Valley & Pit River Tribes Protest California's Violations of Native Prisoners' Religious Rights

The Round Valley Indian Tribes and Pit River Tribe joined Huy, the National Native American Bar Association and others in protest of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's issuance of a provisional "emergency" regulation denying indigenous prisoners access to items used in religious ceremony and access to sweatlodge ceremony. This national inter-tribal protest movement was featured by Indian Country Today this week. In short:

In February, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) provisionally outlawed, on a so-called “emergency” basis, American indigenous prisoners’ religious use of: tribal sacred medicines like kinnikinnick, copal, and osha root; indigenous sacred items like pipes and pipe bags, drums and other instruments, and water dippers; and tribal religious necessities like cloth for prayer ties, beads and beading supplies, and animal hides and teeth. It appears the indigenous prisoners’ sweatlodge ceremonies have also been curtailed being reduced from occurring every weekend to only one or two times per month.

Any person, group or tribe may submit written comments about what remains a proposed CDCR religious property regulation to CDCR, Regulation and Policy Management Branch (RPMB), P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001, or by fax to (916) 324-6075, or by e-mail to RPMB@cdcr.ca.gov. All written comments must be received by the close of the public comment period this Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 5:00 p.m.

Also, a public hearing will be held this Tuesday, May 7, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Sacramento, specifically in the Kern room, located at 151 S Street, North Building, 95811. The CDCR will then consider comments, evaluate proposed alternatives, and issue a final rule.

We urge your timely written and public comment in opposition to the State of California’s unlawful effort to unduly restrict American indigenous prisoners’ freedom to believe, express and exercise traditional indigenous religion.

For additional information, contact Huy Chairman Gabriel S. Galanda, at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.

Huy Urges Tribal & Coalition Opposition to California’s Proposed Violation of American Indian Prisoners’ Religious Freedoms

In February, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) provisionally outlawed, on a so-called “emergency” basis, American indigenous prisoners’ religious use of: tribal sacred medicines like kinnikinnick, copal, and osha root; indigenous sacred items like pipes and pipe bags, drums and other instruments, and water dippers; and tribal religious necessities like cloth for prayer ties, beads and beading supplies, and animal hides and teeth.  It appears the indigenous prisoners’ sweatlodge ceremonies have also been curtailed being reduced from occurring every weekend to only one or two times per month.

Any person, group or tribe may submit written comments about what remains a proposed CDCR religious property regulation to CDCR, Regulation and Policy Management Branch (RPMB), P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001, or by fax to (916) 324-6075, or by e-mail to RPMB@cdcr.ca.gov. All written comments must be received by the close of the public comment period May 7, 2013, at 5:00 p.m.  Also, a public hearing will be held on May 7, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Sacramento, specifically in the Kern room, located at 151 S Street, North Building, 95811. The CDCR will then consider comments, evaluate proposed alternatives, and issue a final rule.

We urge your timely written and public comment in opposition to the State of California’s unlawful effort to unduly restrict American indigenous prisoners’ freedom to believe, express and exercise traditional indigenous religion.

Proposed Regulation § 3190(b) & Revisions to Authorized Personal Property Schedule

On February 21, 2013, CDCR filed a proposal to amend sections of the California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Division 3 concerning inmate religious property. Because this amendment was undertaken as an emergency regulatory action, the new regulations took effect immediately, pending final adoption in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”). See Notice of Approval of Emergency Regulatory Action, OAL File No. 2013-0206-01 EON. The proposed regulations significantly limit the types of religious property that prisoners are allowed to possess. Additionally, the new regulations, seeking to standardize permissible religious property, took decision-making power away from local religious review committees, making it more difficult for Native prisoners to get religious items approved for possession.

Previous regulations allowed prisoners to possess “religious artifacts.” Religious artifacts were defined as “any bag, cross, medallion, totem, bible, pipe, or any other item in which the possessor places religious or spiritual significance.” 15 CA ADC § 3000 (emphasis added). An Authorized Personal Property Schedule (“APPS”) listed items prisoners were allowed to possess. § 3190(b). In terms of religious property, the APPS stated that inmates were allowed to possess “Religious Items (As approved by the local religious review committees…).” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Operations Manual (2013), Article 43, Inmate Property (Revised 2-1-08) [hereinafter Operations Manual].

The Operations Manual defined religious items broadly, stating that “[r]eligious artifacts are those items which American Indians wear on religious/ceremonial occasions and include their tribal designations, personal and religious totems and items which have spiritual significance in their lives.” Operations Manual § 101060.10. The Operations Manual stated that religious items included but were not limited to chokers, eagle feathers, headbands, wristbands, and medicine bags. Id. Additionally, the Operations Manual allowed personal religious items for sweat lodge ceremonies, including but not limited to sacred pipes, pipe bags, kinnikinnick, eagle feathers, sage, sweet grass, buffalo or deer skulls, antlers, lava or river rocks, water, non-metallic dippers, and non-metallic buckets. Operations Manual § 101060.9.1. Further, the Operations Manual mandated that “[c]ustody staff shall consult institutional chaplains and spiritual leaders whenever possible when considering the disapproval of religious items.” Operations Manual § 54040.10.9.

A Soledad Prison order from May 9, 2011 provides an example of the variety of items inmates were allowed to possess. The order allowed for items including but not limited to sacred herbs, including sage, sweet grass, cedar, kinninnick, copal, bitter root and osha root; prayer fans; beaded items such as wristbands, headbands, bandannas; cloth to be used for prayer ties, beads and beading supplies including needles, looms, and thread; pipes and pipe bags; hand drums, flutes, rattles, and clap stick; gourd water dippers; soft leather from a variety of animals; and coyote and bear teeth. See Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, CDC-128 B (8-87), Velarde (May 9, 2011).

In contrast, the new regulations remove religious items from the APPS, instead promulgating a separate Religious Property Matrix. Text of Proposed Regulations, § 3190(b); Proposed Revisions to APPS. The new regulations retain the broad definition of religious items in § 3000, including “item[s] in which the possessor places religious or spiritual significance.” However, the Matrix itself states that “[i]nmates are only permitted personal religious items listed in this Matrix.” Religious Property Matrix (12/1/12). The Matrix then lists 24 items that are allowed.

The Matrix’s list of approved items is extremely limited, failing to include items that have previously been allowed. For instance, herbs are restricted to mint, cedar, lavender, sweet grass, and sage. Thus, important herbs such as kinninnick, copal, and osha root are now prohibited. The Matrix also does not include cloth for prayer ties, beads or beading supplies, pipes or pipe bags, drums or other instruments, water dippers, leather, teeth, or other items. The new Matrix should not affect the use of tobacco in ceremonies. Prisoners were not previously allowed to possess tobacco personally, though they were allowed to use it for religious purposes. 15 CA ADC §§ 3180(b)(2), 3188(c)(1); see also Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, CDC-128 B (8-87), Velarde (May 9, 2011). Thankfully, the regulations regarding tobacco have not been amended.

Additionally, the Matrix is only amendable a maximum of twice a year and must be amended by the Wardens Advisory Group/Religious Review Committee in accordance with the rulemaking requirements of the APA. Text of Proposed Regulations, § 3190(b). Thus, the process for getting an item approved is a much more burdensome one for prisoners because determinations about specific permissible religious items is no longer left to local religious review committees.

Moreover, it appears that American indigenous prisoners’ sweatlodge ceremonies have also been curtailed, from occurring every weekend to only one or two times per month. That restriction, in particular, presents a potentially disastrous impediment to those indigenous prisoners’ spiritual rehabilitation.

Finally, it is unclear why imposition of this overly restrictive Matrix qualified as an emergency. California law states that “[a] finding of emergency based only upon expediency, convenience, best interest, general public need, or speculation, shall not be adequate to demonstrate the existence of an emergency.” Cal. Gov’t Code Ann. § 11346.1 (West). The CDCR has since articulated that its reasons for amending the religious property regulations include “(1) providing statewide standardization concerning allowable religious items for inmates, (2) compliance with existing court mandates, (3) reducing potential inmate litigation, (4) reducing the ability for inmates to barter or trade religious property, and (5) ensuring security and safety in the institutions.” Initial Statement of Reasons. The CDCR must have provided some basis for emergency action in its initial filing. However, the imposition of these unduly restrictive regulations before an opportunity for notice and comment, which could have broadened the Matrix’s scope, has placed a significant and immediate burden on Native prisoners’ religious rights.

For additional information, contact Huy Chairman Gabriel S. Galanda, at (206) 300-7801 or gabe@galandabroadman.com.