LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A prison group is helping Native American inmates keep ties with their culture and connect them to former members who have been incarcerated.

The Native American Spiritual and Cultural Awareness club, or NASCA, held a two-hour powwow for members Monday at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln.

The group’s chairman says the powwow, in which inmates danced around a drum and sang in unison, helps rehabilitate inmates. Inmates value their time around the drum.

Ron Sun Bear, an Oglala Lakota, is now serving two drug sentences and says NASCA has been helping him stay connected to his culture.