In January 1969, with the support guidance of my father, Phil Sr., Dakota Nation, and Bob Rhay, Cherokee Nation and Warden of the Washington State Penitentiary, (WSP) we established, with our inside brothers, the first, self-help, Native American Cultural Group, the Confederated Indian Tribes, (CIT) in Canada and the United States.
From Washington State Penitentiary, the CIT spread to every State, Provincial, and Federal Correctional Institution in Canada and the US. In the early 1980s, the CIT became the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of American Indians. Over the years I came to know many of the prison guards, including those I went to High School with at Walla Walla High School, 1960-1962.
The prison world is a culture all it's own. I pray that someday the WSP and every other prison, like WSP, will close their doors. It is not a healthy place for inmates or guards. While that day is beyond my years in the future, I pray and trust it will happen.
