Women inmates sew pink shawls

Inmates' Pink Shawls Help Cancer Survivors

By Zach BenoitTheir fingers working steadily, draping fine pink strings over the backs of chairs in a small room in the back of the Montana Women's Prison and then sewing them into shawls laid out on the tables in front of them, about a dozen women began the finishing touches on a special gift for local cancer survivors.

The women—all offenders serving time at the prison, and most of them of American Indian heritage—were putting fringe on shawls for the Pink Shawl Project, a nationwide event designed to increase cancer awareness, especially among American Indian women.Comment:  For a somewhat related subject, see Art Empowers Native Prisoners.

Below:  "Cancer survivor Mary Buckman shares a laugh while sewing pink shawls at the Montana Women's Prison in Billings, Mont." (Photo by Bob Zellar of the Billings Gazette)