County jail adds sweat lodge for large Indian inmate population

Wednesday, October 23, 2013  

The jail in Coconino County, Arizona, is building a new sweat lodge for its large Indian inmate population.

Of the 500 inmates, about half are Indian, Cronkite News Service reported. They will be able to use the sweat lodge by the end of the year.

“This is a great opportunity that the sheriff and the staff are providing for the inmates here,” Kelvin Long, who serves as the cultural adviser at the jail, told Cronkite News Service. “It’s a really beautiful opportunity for healing to happen.”

The old sweat lodge had to be taken down because smoke was getting onto the facility's air ventilation system.

Get the Story:
Coconino County Jail adding sweat lodge for Native American inmates (Cronkite News Service 10/22)