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Navajo Nation delegation urges state–tribal partnerships, clinic pilots, grant access and TREP accreditation to reach rural veterans
Summary
Navajo Nation veteran liaison Demetria Sims and Red Mesa representative Ryan Denali told the committee the Nation faces distance, jurisdictional and communication barriers that limit access to benefits and care; they asked the state to support an MOU, clinic‑in‑a‑clinic pilots, expanded tribal grant access, TREP accreditation for tribal VA claim filing, transportation funding, and native‑led mental‑health programs.
A Navajo Nation delegation told the Military & Veterans Affairs Committee it seeks stronger state–tribal collaboration and targeted programs to improve veteran access across the Nation’s chapters.
"My name is Demetria Sims. I am the veteran liaison for the, office of the president and vice president of the Navajo Nation," Sims said, and she introduced priorities compiled with chapter commanders. Ryan Denali, who identified himself as a Red Mesa veterans organization representative and a Navajo Nation veteran advisory member, listed the group’s priorities: establish a state–tribal veterans partnership agreement (MOU); pilot a VA 'clinic‑in‑a‑clinic' model in northwest New Mexico; expand tribal eligibility for state veterans grant programs; support TREP (tribal representative accreditation to file VA claims); improve veteran transportation and rural access; increase cultural competence among state veteran service officers; and develop state support for native veteran mental health and wellness grants.
Denali emphasized distance and jurisdictional overlap as primary barriers for veterans in Shiprock, Crown Point, Towahatchi and Gallup, and requested quarterly state–tribal coordination, data‑sharing, and pilot programs modeled on Arizona examples (Chinle and Kayenta), where VA staff are embedded in IHS facilities.
Presenters provided counts and budget context. Denali and Sims said the Navajo Nation has approximately 40,000 veterans and that roughly 8,000 were registered with the Navajo Nation Veterans Administration for the Nation’s Veterans Trust Fund; they estimated about half of those registered veterans live in New Mexico but said the committee should treat those numbers as approximate and subject to better enumeration. Denali said a DOD canvass to produce a full veterans census could cost an estimated $15 million; committee members urged seeking congressional assistance to obtain federal funding for comprehensive counts.
Members raised statutory and jurisdictional questions about MOUs and cross‑government programs and asked about Code Talker Museum capital outlay (about $2 million). Presenters said land for the museum had been purchased but that site survey/stability issues required reexamination of a chosen parcel; senators emphasized transparency and asked for accounting on New Mexico taxpayer funds in tribal projects.
What's next: Committee members asked staff to explore whether current state statutes permit the proposed MOUs and encouraged the delegation to continue engagement with the state's Indian Affairs and veterans services offices; the committee offered to support federal outreach for clinic pilots and census funding.
