VA Office of Tribal Government Relations Newsletter ~ January/February 2019 Hello and welcome to the latest VA Office of Tribal Government Relations (OTGR) newsletter. Can you believe it’s March? I know it’s already been quite a winter for most of the country. We’ve seen record snowfall and many areas are bracing for more frigid temperatures and precipitation in the coming days. I am encouraged by the calendar which tells us that spring is a mere three weeks away and we’ll finally get to thaw out and see new growth all around us. The Department of Veterans Affairs was, fortunately, not closed during the government shut down, so Veterans continued to be served and our team was able to proceed with scheduled meetings, outreach and training engagements with tribal partners and programs. It was challenging without our federal family partners (IHS, HUD, BIA) but everyone is back to work and we are collectively moving forward. In recent weeks, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct interviews with Tribal Veteran Service Officers (TVSOs) and tribal Veterans program staff from nine different tribes. You’ll find two of the interviews below, one with Geri Opsal, TVSO for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota and another with R.E. Lucero, who assists Veterans and their families of the Ute Indian Tribe in Utah. The TVSOs and Veterans program staff shared helpful information about the structure and organization of their respective tribal Veterans programs, illustrating how some TVSOs attained accreditation status as service officers whereas other tribes prefer to rely on local partners to assist with Veterans claims. Sharing their best practices, I think you’ll find the interviews interesting, informative and helpful, especially if you are working on developing or enhancing Veterans services programs within tribal communities. Everyone interviewed has a diverse history and background, so I think you’ll enjoy getting to know them better. We will roll out more interview profiles in subsequent newsletters. Switching gears, our OTGR team will be on the go during March. This coming week Mary Culley and Peter Vicaire will be here in DC to assist with the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Impact week Veterans Committee meetings. Later in the month (March 20-21), Mary Culley will be working with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma as well as the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Benefits Assistance Service, Muskogee Regional Office, State of Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, the Indian Health Service and other key local partners to host an onsite claims event. For more information, contact [email protected]. Meanwhile, Peter will be in Des Moines, IA, assisting with the travelling Smithsonian exhibit, “Patriot Nations: Native Americans in Our Nation’s Armed Forces” and then in Missoula, MT, to be on a Veterans Law panel hosted by the University of Montana. More information on that event can be found below in this newsletter. Homana Pawiki and Terry Bentley have been busy lining up VA health and benefits subject matter experts for regional CMS ITU trainings and plans are in the works for additional claims events and Tribal Veterans Representative trainings. Homana has seventeen claims events scheduled for the Southwest while Terry has held one TVR training in California and has four more coming up within the next few months, to be held during the remainder of the fiscal year. Please contact us for a final schedule to include dates, times and locations. In Homana’s region, on March 29, 2019, the Navajo Nation Veterans Administration Shiprock Agency will be hosting an event from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. The next day, March 30, the Gila River Indian Community Office of Veteran and Family Services is hosting a veteran event from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Casa Blanca Multi Service Center. Please contact [email protected] for more information. Looking beyond March, we will likely be hosting tribal consultation sessions (notices forthcoming) on various topics during the year. We received many inquiries and requests for presentations focusing on various provisions of the Mission Act, in particular Section 403 which provides for 150 VA-funded medical residents to work in IHS and Tribal Health Program facilities. We would also like to share the news that our friend and colleague from the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), Mr. Howard Orr, who worked closely with the NCA tribal and state cemetery grant program, retired at the end of February. Howard was involved with the tribal cemetery grant program since its inception, having worked on the first VA-funded tribal cemetery grant project with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe approximately 8 years ago and working with tribes (now up to almost 13) ever since that time. Howard’s professionalism, warm spirit and dedication to serving Veterans as well as working collaboratively with tribes was recognized multiple times at the tribal, federal and state level during his career with VA. He will be missed, but we wish him all the best as he begins this new chapter. In closing, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. I encourage all our readers to take time (every day really) but remember on this day to welcome home and thank the Vietnam Veterans in our lives for their service. I don’t think they can ever hear enough “welcome homes.” We always like to hear feedback from our readers, so if you have recommendations for content, or questions, please email us at [email protected]. Stephanie Links to non-Federal services are provided solely as a service to our readers. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and none should be inferred. VA is not responsible for the content of the individual organization web pages found at these links nor the information provided on these events by organizations or individuals. 2 Your Service. Our Mission Campaign: 32 Veterans Events in 24 Tribal Communities Here’s an article which ran in the VA Insider on February 19, 2019 This time last year, VA was getting ready to launch a nationwide campaign to roll out veteran disability enrollment claim events with 24 tribal communities. The campaign, “Your Service. Our Mission: Bringing Benefits Home,” kicked off March 2018 and wrapped up with a total of 32 events spanning 11 states. One of the most significant highlights was the amount of VA benefits approved for tribal veterans who may not have otherwise received VA benefits due to the rural geographical location of the tribal community. More than 1,100 veterans participated and submitted 730 claims. One tribal veteran’s compensation tripled while another received a check for $20,000 in back pay. “Our main focus was to work with tribal governments to encourage and assist veterans across Indian Country to come and apply for the benefits they earned through their military service,” said Stephanie Birdwell, director, VA’s Office of Tribal Government Relations. “This helps VA enhance and improve the experience for all veterans and their families.” Birdwell is quick to point out that the presumptive condition campaign would not have been successful without the support of VA’s Benefits Assistance Service, VBA Regional Office leadership and staff, State Departments of Veterans Affairs, and national Veteran Service Organizations. VA benefits staff, service officers, and health care personnel were on hand at each event to review claims on the spot, with the goal of completing the claim same day. “VA’s Benefits Assistance Service worked closely with tribal government leaders to roll out these claims events,” said Mike Frueh, executive director, VA’s Benefits Assistance Service. “We focused on veterans and their widows with presumptive disabilities, in addition to those who are pension eligible. “Many tribal veterans and families may not realize VA presumes that certain medical conditions are related to military service, although these conditions may first appear after discharge,” said Frueh. “In addition, a spouse may be eligible for certain benefits when a veteran dies as a result of what VA calls presumptive disabilities.” VA reached out to more than 500 tribes with announcements about the campaign and an offer to host an event. “While we initially had interest from 20 tribes, word spread and tribes saw the tremendous benefit of the events,” said Birdwell. “In the end, we reached 24 tribal communities, with some requesting multiple events in different locations to reach more people.” Hosted by VA and the Navajo Nation, Indian Country’s first presumptive claims event took place last March at the communities of Many Farms and Cottonwood/Tselani, Ariz. During this two-day outreach event, 88 participants were assisted and 49 claims for benefits were processed by VA employees. 3 “As an outreach specialist, I always enjoy getting out of the office and working directly with the veterans we serve,” said Monica Cabrera, public affairs officer, Phoenix VA Regional Office. “Having the opportunity at Many Farms and Cottonwood was rewarding for me emotionally and professionally. Veterans have contributed significantly to the economic sustainability of Indian Country, and I hope they left the event knowing how appreciative we are for their service.” VA worked alongside the following tribal communities to host Presumptive Condition events: Copper River Native Association (Alaska); Native Village of White Mountain (Alaska); Tule River Tribe (Calif.); Walker River Paiute Tribe (Nevada); Siletz Tribe (Oregon); Nooksack Indian Tribe (Washington); Bay Mills Indian Community (Michigan); White Earth Nation (Minnesota); Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Wisconsin); Osage Nation (Okla.); Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (Okla.); Eastern Shawnee Tribe (Okla.); Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Okla.); Kiowa Tribe (Okla.); Kewa Pueblo (N.M.); Pasqui Yaqui Tribe (Ariz.); Tohono O’odham Nation (Ariz.); San Carlos Apache (Ariz.); Navajo Nation (Ariz.); White Mountain Apache Tribe (Ariz.); Pueblo of Pojoaque (N.M); and Taos Pueblo (N.M.).