PRINCE ALBERT – Faith Eagle, a prisoner at Pine Grove Correctional Centre, has joined a hunger strike alongside eight other women in solidarity with male prisoners at Regina Provincial Correctional Centre (RPCC) who have been refusing food for five days.
The protesters are alleging inhumane conditions, lack of cultural support, and unfair treatment within Saskatchewan’s provincial jails.
“[Prisoners] are not being treated like human beings,” said Eagle on June 3.
The hunger strike started in RPCC’s 2D unit, where male inmates reported malfunctioning toilets and refrigerators, no cleaning staff leading to filthy living conditions, and prolonged segregation like conditions with only three cells allowed out at a time for one hour, three times daily.
Sherri Gordon, a prisoner advocate and founder of Beyond Prison Walls Canada Society Inc., says the situation violates human rights.
“The most urgent issues are the unsanitary conditions and the segregation as these are health issues and segregation effects anyone's mental health,” said Gordon.
Since the hunger strike at RPCC, some prisoners at Pine Grove Correctional Centre have joined in solidarity with their male counterparts. The strikers are calling for independent oversight of correctional policies, improved sanitation and living conditions, an end to punitive segregation, and funding for Indigenous cultural programs, including ceremonies and materials for traditional crafts.
Eagle said some prisoners at Pine Grove have phone restrictions, with their phones being taken away without valid reason, leaving them no way to call loved ones.
She anticipates retaliation from correctional officers (Cos) including targeted strip searches, cell raids, and transfers to higher-security units. Despite the risks, she said she remains committed, citing solidarity with fellow inmates who face the same struggles.
Eagle said that she is being transferred to a federal penitentiary soon and wants to help those in Pine Grove while she is still there.
A critical issue for Eagle and others is the lack of cultural support.
“They have such disconnection to their nations, their culture and need to heal and for many they only get to learn culture when inside, the minimal amount they do get.
“The vicious cycle of over incarceration for Indigenous People keeps happening because so many are not given opportunities inside to heal,” said Eagle. “Like children in [foster] care they become disconnected from their culture, their nation, language and family, which is vital to healing.”
Pine Grove has only one elder and a single cultural coordinator for Indigenous inmates, said Eagle. Requests for ceremonies, like an upcoming Strawberry Moon gathering, or materials for ribbon skirt-making, are denied unless women pay out of pocket – an impossibility for many.
“The women who want to do cultural things, which is their inherent right, such as make ribbon skirts and attend a ceremony are told they can make the skirts, do beading but they have to pay for supplies. Many women cannot afford to pay for these things and there should be funding for this for cultural practices to support healing in those incarcerated.”
Gordon said that society should pay greater attention to the realities of life behind bars.
“Society thinks that people go to jail to get programs and learn how to be better people, that's rarely the case. They are not always getting that, especially in provincial [jails] where the majority are on remand, and are innocent until proven guilty.”
She said many have their rights violated and things done to them by guards that if that was done to someone on the outside, they would face criminal charges.
“Often things going on inside are so horrible and cause so much trauma that when they get out they need more healing.”
Gordon said the systemic failures and abuses worsen trauma rather than promote rehabilitation.
She urged the public to pressure officials, emphasizing that most inmates are remand prisoners who are legally innocent until proven guilty and that poor conditions worsen recidivism.
“These men and women are human. They have made mistakes in life, but they are human. There are issues that have them end up in jail. None of them wake up one day and want to commit a crime to go to jail,” she said. “As a prison wife and advocate, I've heard many people, mostly Indigenous speak on what brought them to jail, it's trauma, it's mental illness and addictions and all have lack of support. Many want help outside and don't get it. Many want help inside but don’t get it and often more come out worse than when they went in.”
On Wednesday, Eagle said that Pine Grove staff has been separating the inmates participating in the hunger strike, with one being sent to Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford.
Some inmates at Pine Grove Correctional Centre and at Regina Correctional Centre are participating in tray refusals, confirmed Nipun Taneja, Senior Media Relations Consultant, for Communications Branch, Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety.
No medical concerns are noted and the inmates involved are communicative with facility officials, said Taneja in an email on Wednesday.
“Officials will continue to monitor and meet with the offenders to ensure their health and safety and discuss any concerns they may have,” she said.
