The Navajo Nation Veterans Administration is the first tribal nation to be accredited to allow veteran service officers on the reservation to help veterans apply for benefit and pension claims.
The announcement, reported by KOAT TV, was made with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, U.S. Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez, and other elected officials in attendance.
"We have a lot of Vets who are illiterate," Cassandra Morgan, a Marine Vet, told KOAT in applauding the announcement. "There's somebody there who can actually help these veterans navigate through the whole system."
Filling any type of legal paperwork can be challenging for Navajo veterans. According to a KOAT report, many of them make the two-hour trip to Albuquerque or Prescott, Arizona, to get assistance from the Veterans Administration. With the accreditation, veteran service officers can meet people who need help in Gallup.
"I'm supposed to fight like hell for all veterans,” McDonough told reporters. “There's a lot of veterans here in New Mexico, and there's a lot of veterans here among Native Americans in New Mexico.”
There are more than 10,000 Navajo veterans, according to the KOAT report. Nez reported 83 claims have been filed from May 2 to May 28, a figure likely to grow quickly now that Navajo veterans service staff have the accreditation.
