NCAI's Efforts to Honor the Memory of Native Service Members and Our Native Veterans; Reflections on Memorial Day
Members of the Navajo Code Talkers Associations stand with the Native American Women Warriors group at the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Summit.
Memorial Day is a time to reflect and honor the warriors who serve and have served valiantly, sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice while seeking nothing in return, to protect the sovereignty of tribal nations, communities, homelands, and the United States.
We owe a debt of gratitude to all veterans and the United States government should not fall short in providing them with the benefits and privileges to which they are entitled. However, we find there is disparity in the treatment of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian veterans, who upon returning home become frustrated because of the lack funding for benefits and the backlog in providing services.
NCAI proudly seeks fair and dignified treatment of all veterans and also advocates for federal support and funding for Native veteran programs and services.The NCAI Veterans Committee meets annually at both NCAI's Mid-Year Conference and Annual Convention and has been tracking the development of Native memorials in tribute to the military service of Native people.
National News & Support for a Native Veterans Memorial
This Memorial Day weekend, the effort to establish a Native veterans memorial in Washington, DC for all wars and for Vietnam veterans is making national news in an Associated Press story running in newspapers across the country.
A long standing objective of NCAI and veterans groups, NCAI came out in support of new legislation introduced by Senator Schatz of Hawaii this past week to clarify the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994, amending the bill to allow for the completion of the long standing project.
The project had encountered a number of obstacles since the legislation's passage, including limitations placed on the involvement of the National Museum of the American Indians (NMAI). The new language removes a number of technical barriers that have hindered completion and allows for the memorial to be built adjacent to NMAI, not inside the Museum as originally proposed. Additionally, NMAI would be able to participate in raising funds for the effort.
NCAI released the following statement by President Jefferson Keel regarding support for the project:
"It is essential that we fulfill Senator Inouye and Indian Country's vision for a memorial to honor the service and sacrifice of our Native American service members. NCAI supports the amendments to the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994, which will make the memorial a reality and allow for it to be built on the property of the National Museum of the American Indian," said Jefferson Keel, President of NCAI and a decorated veteran. "Most importantly, this bill allows for more flexibility for tribal nations and the United States to work together to honor the contributions and sacrifices of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian military service members and veterans. As a Native veteran myself, I look forward to the day my fellow veterans are recognized for their contributions to protecting the sovereignty of tribal nations and the United States."
Updates on Native Service by the Number
This past week the Department of Defense made new information available to NCAI about those members of the armed services who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.
As of May 21, 2013, 73 American Indians/Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) service members have died or been wounded in Operation Enduring Freedom(Afghanistan) / Operation Iraqi Freedom / Operation New Dawn (Iraq) actions. That's an increase of 9 service members who have died in action since the statistics were last reported by NCAI over a year ago. In all, 525 American Indian and Alaska Native service members have been wounded.
According to a 2012 report released by the Department of Veterans Affairs:
- more than 154,000 Veterans identify themselves as solely American Indian and Alaska Native;
- Over 44,000 Native Americans served between 1941 and 1945. The entire population of Native Americans in the United States was less than 350,000 at the time;
- More than 42,000 Native Americans served in the military in the Vietnam Era, and over 90 percent of these Service members were volunteers.
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Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights.
 
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