Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing
by Matt Clarke
On April 15, 2026, Nebraska State Penitentiary (NSP) Warden Barb Lewien issued a memo stating that “NSP will resume the Native American religious land use schedule in effect prior to the suspension period.” This cut short a 60-day suspension that effectively prevented many followers of Native American faiths from engaging in practices required by their faith.
NSP prisoners Tremayne Scott and Joshua Lewis are followers of Native American faiths which require certain practices involving the use of fire, including the sweat lodge ceremony, smudging with sage, cedar and sweetgrass, and smoking red willow bark and tobacco. Scott is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe while Lewis is of Cherokee and Tarascan descent. Both have practiced their faith for many years. These practices allow them to become purified sufficiently to pray to the Great Spirit. Thus, lack of the practices deteriorates the religious significance of prayer for Lewis and Scott.
According to court documents, NSP set up a fenced portion of the prison yard, the shared outdoor space (SOS), to accommodate religious groups whose faith practices require the use of fire. Contained within the SOS is an area approximately 50-by-50 feet called the Native American Religious Use Land (NARUL). The NARUL is the only NSP location where smoking, smudging and sweat lodging is permitted. Ceremonial items used in the NARUL are kept outside the NARUL in an unsecured storage box within the SOS and beside a wood pile shared by all SOS groups.
Other groups, including the Wicca, Satanists, and Asatru have their own dedicated spaces within the SOS. Although a written pass is required to enter the SOS, there is no such restriction on moving between the dedicated spaces within the SOS. Further, a minimum-security housing unit has daily access to the SOS.
There is a sweat lodge in the NARUL that Scott, Lewis and others who practice Native American faiths use, generally on Sunday mornings. On February 22, 2026, neither Scott nor Lewis received a pass to go the NARUL. NSP Religious Coordinator Tim Kramer told Scott that staff had found contraband in the NARLU storage box and use of the NARUL had been suspended for 60 days. However, neither Scott nor Lewis was charged with any kind of disciplinary offense.
On April 13, 2026, aided by ACLU of Nebraska attorneys Carter T. Matt, Grant L. Friedman and Jennifer M. Houlden, and Big Fire Law and Policy Groups attorneys Danielle Smith and Andrea Snowball, Lewis and Scott filed an emergency complaint pursuant to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc, et seq., alleging the suspension amounted to an undue burden on the exercise of their religion and also violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the First Freedom Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-701, et seq., and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
The complaint sought a temporary restraining order (TRO), preliminary injunction and permanent injunction as well as a declaratory judgment and attorney fees.
On April 16, 2026, the day a hearing was scheduled on the motion for a TRO, NSP rescinded the suspension. This does not necessarily moot the claims as Scott and Lewis said they would continue the lawsuit to make certain NSP does not restrict their faith practices in the future.
“I would like for everyone to know that no matter where you are, incarcerated or in the community, whatever you are dealing with, when it comes to your faith, way of life, traditions and culture, stand up and fight for what is right and fight the good fight. Don’t give up on it.” See: Scott v. Jefferys, USDC (D. Neb.), Case No. 4:26-cv-03124.
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Related legal case
Scott v. Jefferys
| Year | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (D. Neb.), Case No. 4:26-cv-03124 |
| Level | District Court |