Press release from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:
VA’s Office of Tribal Government Relations, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Veterans Committee are collaborating on two separate programs geared toward outreach to American Indian Veteran populations. Both events are open to the public and all Veterans, widows and family members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
On Tuesday, October 10th, (3:00-7:00) a Veterans Town Hall Meeting will take place at the Steve Youngdeer American Legion Post 143, in Cherokee, NC. The purpose of this event is to allow Veterans and their families a chance to provide direct feedback, as well as present questions and concerns about their VA benefits, healthcare and services.
On Thursday, October 12th, a full-day (8:00-4:30) of training sessions will provide information on various Veterans programs and services. The information provided at these sessions should be beneficial to Veterans, widows, family members and Tribal agencies that service them.
**Veterans who are not enrolled in VA health care can bring their military discharge paperwork (DD-214) and apply for enrollment during the event. Staff will be available to help in determining eligibility, filling out enrollment requests forms and scheduling appointments. There will also be VBA representatives on site to assist with questions regarding claims.**
Why are U.S. service members with “Indian ancestry/race” being made distinguishable from all other non-Indian U.S. service members who earned VA benefits?