The author of this piece, Charles Longshore, is a Skokomish Tribal member who is nearly 13 years into a 35.8 year sentence in the Washington State Department of Corrections. Longshore is a founding member and board of directors chair at the Judicial Second Look Coalition and one of the key authors of the Judicial Discretion Act, a bill that would give second chances to people in Washington State serving excessive or life sentences. 

Longshore is a fierce advocate for his people and loves practicing his Native culture in the “sweat lodge, singing, dancing, making regalia, making drums, canoe paddles, and more.” Longshore wrote, “I was once taught to take every step as if it was a prayer. I try to keep myself grounded in spirituality and focused on the goals of our people. The fact of incarceration makes no difference. The power and ability to make a difference resides in you.”

• • • • • • • • • •

Native American people are incarcerated in state and federal prisons at four times the rate of our white counterparts. Over 45 percent of Native people will return to prison in the first 36 months. Indigenous people are overrepresented in our criminal legal system and even more so in solitary confinement in jails and prisons.

Here’s my story. My name is Charles Longshore. I am a Skokomish Tribal member serving a sentence of 35.8 years. I was housed many times in our local jail. On each occasion, I noticed the overrepresentation of Skokomish and Squaxin Island tribal members (the jail’s two neighboring tribes). In every jail pod, I have seen Native people, and what’s even worse is that solitary confinement is where I saw the highest disproportionality.

When I was transferred to Washington State Department of Corrections, this did not change. Upon entering the prison, I met Native people from tribes all over the state and nation. I transferred to Washington State Penitentiary, where Native people over-represented our population in every unit I saw. What I found was that our people in the world are under-represented in every area, but in prison, we are one of the majorities represented.

I learned my heart was full of pain and grief from my past harms and generational traumas carried on. I have seen firsthand that I was not alone. My other brothers fell deeper into their depression, often leading us into places like solitary confinement.

In one instance, I was being indefinitely held in solitary confinement following an alleged staff assault. I felt helpless and even attempted suicide. I found hope when I was transferred to Stafford Creek Corrections Center’s solitary confinement unit and was able to see my mom and daughter at a non-contact visit. I told myself I would change and would change the world around me for our people.

When I finally was released from solitary after nearly three years of isolation, I began my advocacy for Native people and began repairing my relationships with my family.

Native people have suffered genocide, forced assimilation, sterilization of our women, destruction of tribes, culture, and traditions. We have been forced into boarding schools and have endured severe traumas and poverty, dating back to colonization. These are historical harms that our federal and state government has yet to rectify. 

Through Native peoples’ fight for freedom and the passing of many laws, we have made great strides. Our people are being incarcerated in disproportionate numbers and recidivating in disproportionate numbers. All too often we allow our unresolved traumas to continue the cycle of harm and placement in solitary confinement, jails and prisons.

It’s time, brothers and sisters, that we right the ship, right the historical wrongs, and begin reclaiming our traditions, our culture, and our ways as Indian people. Spirituality is key to our rehabilitation. Our identity as Indian people must be loved, honored and cherished.

Today, I am the author of the Judicial Discretion Act, which if passed would give people in Washington a second look at their sentence after serving 10 years. I am a founding member of the Judicial Second Look Coalition and the Chair of the Board of Directors. I am a representative of our Tribal Sons Native American Group here at Washington Corrections Center and advocate for indigenous rights and religious freedoms. I have kept true to my promise and have righted my wrongs. Now I aim to right the wrongs against our people. I have been out of solitary confinement since 2018 and am proud of changes I’ve made both personally and collectively. The message is: If I can do it, you can do it.

Be strong and remain in prayer. Creator knows we have been fighting the war since 1492.

Featured photo is a gathering space in a Skokomish Tribal Community Center. Photo credit: Doug Walker