Fred Short, American Indian Movement Spiritual Advisor, has begun a fast to
protest the discrimination that continues to exist within the California
Department of Corrections administration and within the correctional
facilities that the Department is responsible for.
Fred Short is a Chippewa Indian from the Sacramento area who has been
involved with the American Indian Movement and the Longest Spiritual Walk
for Justice since 1976. Fred has been involved with Dennis Banks in the
American Indian Movement for the past 10 years.
The hunger strike is to bring attention to the California Department of
Corrections discrimination against American Indian inmates and the services
that should be available to the Native American Inmate populations in the
CDC facilities throughout California. Mr. Short has served as American
Indian Spiritual Advisor to the American Indian inmates in San Quentin, Duel
Vocational Institute, Sierra Conservation Center, Northern California Youth
Authority facilities and Pleasanton Facilities.
Native American inmates serve longer sentences, do not have access to
Spiritual Advisors as do other inmates such as Protestant, Catholic, Muslim,
and other religous affiliations. Fred Short is opposed to this continued
discrimination and he also opposes the manner in which the Department of
Corrections facilitates services to Native American inmates including the
disbursement of funds to provide such limited services. Fred currently
receives limited funds to coordinate some of the visitation and consultation
services for Indian inmates.
Fred opposes the manner in which the Department processes such funds and
requires that Indian Spiritual Advisors must have a business licence and do
not have the same or equal status as priests, pastors, or chaplains. He also
is fasting to protest the timeliness of the payment of services by the
California Department of Corrections and their Contractors. He has not
received payment in more than four months. Jonathan Hill, a licenced
business contractor for the Department, has not paid Fred for the
consultation service he has provided. Mr. Short states that this has been a
practice for almost four years and he began his fast in the Three Rivers
Sweat Lodge on Friday, July 28 and will continue his hunger strike until
this matter is resolved.
A Regional American Indian Spritual Conference is planned at the Three
Rivers Lodge located at 13505 Union Road in Manteca, California on August
18, 19, 20, 1995 to address the concerns of continued discrimination by the
California Department of Corrections in providing services to Native
American Indian inmates throughout California. For more information contact
(209) 858-2421, fax (209) 858-2002.
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Please do not reply to this posting, contact the above phone/fax for more
info as I am leaving for a couple weeks vacation. S. Carroll.