Inmates chop wood for a sweat lodge ceremony at the South Dakota State Penitentiary on Aug. 17, 2018, in Sioux Falls. (Briana Sanchez photo/courtesy Argus Leader)
The South Dakota Department of Corrections says it will rebuild three sweat lodges dismantled during a weekslong lockdown at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
The DOC started what it described as a “proactive” lockdown to perform a facility-wide search for contraband on Sept. 15. Last week, the agency sent a press release saying it was transitioning out of lockdown status .
Between announcing the lockdown’s beginning and its end, the DOC sent a news release with photos of alleged contraband , including sharp objects and a mobile wi-fi hotspot. The DOC sent a news release with more photos of alleged contraband Monday evening, in a release calling the lockdown a success.
The agency did not mention the sweat lodges in any of the the releases.
State prison system puts nearly 1,300 inmates on indefinite lockdown
Late last week, an inmate named Gerald Thin Elk told South Dakota Searchlight that inmates went five days without showers at the start of the lockdown, that most of his unit remained on lockdown after its end was announced, and that the lodges had been dismantled as inmates sat in their cells.