Smoke seen billowing from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary earlier today was part of a sweat lodge—an initiative of HMP’s Indigenous inmates.
It was made possible through the help of staff. First Light and Sagimaw Mi’sel Joe of the Miapukek First Nation led the sacred ceremony.
The construction of a sweat lodge is a spiritual process for Indigenous cultures, as they prepare a place for self-reflection and prayer.
It was the second sweat lodge at a correction facility in this province—the first having been built at the Labrador Correctional Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
