Today, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) will host a signing ceremony for the National American Indian Veterans (NAIV) to commemorate the passage of the NAIV Charter Act, granting a Federal charter to the group. The charter for the NAIV is in recognition of the service of Native people in the U.S. armed forces from Valley Forge to Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress grants charters to recognize patriotic and national organizations that operate solely for charitable, literary, educational, scientific or civil improvement purposes.
Powers Principal Paul Moorehead and Director of Tribal Government Relations Natasha John drafted the legislation and led advocacy efforts to get the charter signed into law. The bipartisan legislation was included in the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 which was signed into law on December 22, 2023. The NAIV serves the needs and interests of Native American veterans in collaboration with National Commander Don Loudner, national leadership and 14 regional offices.
The signing ceremony will include remarks from Sens. Rounds, Ben Ray Luján (D-NM, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, and the Deputy Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, followed by a presentation of the charter documents.
Rounds first introduced this legislation in the 116th Congress and again in the 117th Congress, where it unanimously passed the Senate. Earlier this year, Rounds introduced this bipartisan legislation with 35 cosponsors.
Headquartered in South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Reservation, the NAIV is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advocating on behalf of Native veterans. Originally established in 2004, today the NAIV serves the needs of Native American veterans in all 50 states. The NAIV formed as a result of a recommendation by former Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing in 2004.
Watch the full ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy4oN6knAyg
The Indian Tribal Governments Group at Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC is a nationally recognized, award-winning D.C.-based group representing Indian tribes, tribal organizations, tribally-owned corporations, and private entities doing business with tribes. The group has decades of experience working with Congress, the Executive Branch and Federal agencies on housing and infrastructure, energy and natural resources, gaming and land issues, economic development and financing, and others. For more information regarding our Indian Tribal Governments practice group, please do not hesitate to reach out to Principal Paul Moorehead at Paul.Moorehead@PowersLaw.com or to the Director of Tribal Government Relations Natasha John at Natasha.John@PowersLaw.com.