Joshua Lewis and Tremayne Scott say in an emergency complaint filed Monday that the department's February ban on access to a 50-square-foot space within the prison yard that contains a sweat lodge is in response to contraband allegedly found within a box containing items used in Indigenous ceremonies and rituals.
However, they argue, the space is shared by other groups for their religious practices, yet none of those groups' access to the site is banned.
"Any member of any of these groups had the same access to the box where the contraband is claimed to have been discovered," the complaint states.
Lewis, who is of Cherokee and Tarascan descent and Scott, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, have not been accused of placing the contraband, and both have filed multiple grievances through the prison's administrative process, including the emergency complaint.
The lawsuit says that Tim Kramer, the religious coordinator for the state penitentiary, sent a Feb. 26 letter to all members of the Native American Faith Group that stated they were suspended from the space for repeated safety and security violations, but would be alternatively allowed to meet in the prison's religious center.
However, the men say they're restricted from conducting a sweat lodge ceremony in the alternative space because they're not allowed to smudge sage, cedar or sweetgrass or to smoke red willow bark as is required for their prayer.
Lewis and the vast majority of the Native American Faith Group declined to use an issued pass for the alternative space because of its restrictions, the lawsuit says. It adds that because Lewis didn't utilize the pass the first two times it was issued to him, he's no longer allowed into the religious center.
Scott did use the pass to determine whether the alternative space could support his religious exercise, according to the complaint. However, when he arrived, he saw that other Christian faith groups were using the space for religious practice, which includes the burning of incense, it says.
When Scott inquired about smudging or smoking red willow bark in the space for his religious practice, Kramer declined the request, according to the suit.
"This is so important to me on many levels," Scott said in a Monday statement. "Our spiritual traditions are part of my identity and a core part of my life. They give me direction and stability. They encourage me to turn from my old ways and walk in a good way."
He continued: "The ways of our ancestral medicine people create bridges between worlds, the spiritual and the physical. Being denied the ability to take part in those traditions is painful. I pray that this will be resolved soon in a way that makes sure we are never again prevented from practicing our faith and keeping our ways alive."
In addition to Kramer, the inmates are suing Rob Jeffreys, director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services; Barbara Lewien, warden of the Nebraska State Penitentiary, and Jason Hurt, associate warden of the Nebraska State Penitentiary, on violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the First Amendment's free exercise clause and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
The men also allege that the state officials are violating the Nebraska First Freedom Act, which outlaws any substantial burden on religious exercise unless it's "essential to further a compelling governmental interest," according to the complaint.
The Nebraska Legislature approved the First Freedom Act in 2024 through a bill that also expanded protections for the wearing of tribal regalia, according to the ACLU of Nebraska, which is representing the plaintiffs.
"Our state and federal laws make it clear that restrictions on religious liberty need to clear a high bar, and this arbitrary restriction does not meet that bar. The bottom line is that it is not the state's role to restrict religious exercise or to pick and choose which traditional practices are appropriate for our Native American clients," Carter Matt, an attorney with the ACLU of Nebraska, said in a Monday statement.
"It is hard to imagine incarcerated Christians being told that hymns and Bible study are off-limits because contraband was found in the chapel, but that is essentially what is happening here. We are hoping for a swift order from the court so that our clients can once again practice their faith in accordance with their beliefs," Matt added.
A representative of the Nebraska Department of Corrections could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Lewis and Scott are represented by Carter T. Matt, Grant L. Friedman and Jennifer M. Houlden of the ACLU of Nebraska Foundation, and Danelle Smith and Andrea Snowball of Big Fire Law & Policy Group LLP.
Counsel information for the Nebraska Department of Corrections defendants was not available Thursday.
The case is Scott et al. v. Jeffreys et al., case number 4:26-cv-03124, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska.
--Editing by Amy French.
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