Native American vets missing out on benefits

Jahna Berry
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 27, 2005 12:00 AM

Vietnam veteran Verland French of Mesa could have obtained inexpensive care for his diabetes because its onset could be tied to wartime exposure to the toxic chemical known as Agent Orange.

But like many Native American veterans, the 66-year-old didn't know how to get help. He considers himself lucky because he can afford health care and can drive to see a doctor. But thousands of other former warriors aren't so fortunate.

"They need transportation, they need . . . (trained) staff, they need people who are trained on what's available to veterans," said French, chairman of the Arizona Inter-Tribal Veterans Association.

French, Rep. Albert Tom, D-Sanders, and other advocates are part of a growing chorus speaking out about the plight of American Indian veterans. In recent weeks the Arizona Department of Veterans Services, the state's advocate for former soldiers applying for federal benefits, has pledged to form a panel with representatives from local tribes. French's group has been networking with other vets. And some Arizona tribes with established outreach programs are educating other tribes about veterans' needs.

Nonetheless, many of the state's estimated 18,000 to 20,000 Native American veterans are likely to be falling through the cracks, particularly when it comes to medical care, experts say.

Transportation problems, language issues, cultural complexities and myths about affluence from casino revenues make it tough for Native American vets to get services.

Millions of dollars in federal benefits probably go unclaimed, outrageous in a state that's home to 21 tribes, Tom said.

"Everyone on the state level is out of touch with Native American issues,"said Tom, who sits on the Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs Committee in the state House of Representatives. "These veterans are state citizens. They shouldn't be treated like they don't exist."

Some veterans give up because the VA bureaucracy seems insurmountable.

"The whole system is adversarial," said Noel Benoist, a 59-year-old Apache Junction disabled veteran who is half Lakota Sioux.

The former U.S. intelligence officer said he has fought to get federal benefits to cover hearing damage tied to his service and said he has been informally helping other vets with benefits for years.

"It's basically like a battle to prove a murder case on every benefit," Benoist said.

Vets of all ethic backgrounds get discouraged because they struggle with reams of red tape. Those problems are compounded for Native American vets, he said.

"American Indian people are raised very proud," he said. "They don't want to go through a process to be made as if they are stealing something they already earned."

That's how George Robinson felt when he tried to get vision benefits.

"When I was discharged, I was told that I would be entitled to full benefits," recalled Robinson, who spent 20 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard. "When I called the VA in Phoenix, he asked if I was working. He said,'Sorry you make too much money.' "

Robinson, a Tempe resident who is a Hopi and Omaha, said he was outraged and hasn't gone back.

All Arizona veterans have tremendous needs, but American Indians are especially hard hit, one state official said. There are 600,000 veterans in Arizona generating an estimated $5 billion for the economy through disability, retirement and federal benefits.

A fraction of the state's veterans, 52,000, receive some kind of benefits, said Patrick Chorpenning, director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services.

If the numbers are that low in the general population, the number among Native American veterans is probably even lower, he said.

Chorpenning and others are lobbying for more benefits counselors, including some who would be sensitive to tribal cultures.

Staffing isn't the only problem.

There's also a myth that tribes, flush with casino cash, are picking up the slack. Not all tribes have casinos, said Michael Pavatea, who supervises veterans' services for the Hopi Tribe, which has about 900 veterans. Pavatea's group counsels vets on how to get benefits and helps transport them to the VA hospital in Prescott, which is more than four hours away from the reservation.

Many tribes, even ones with casinos, may not know how many vets are tribal members or may know little about veterans needs, said Pavatea, whose group is traveling to New Mexico to tell other tribes about the issue.

Pavatea sees many Native American vets with post-traumatic stress problems because they were picked to go on the front line. "They were labeled as trackers, the old Hollywood stereotype," he said.

While many tribal members go to Indian Health Services, it's not a perfect solution, Tom and Pavatea say.

Indian Health Services "want to see insurance cards, like any regular hospital," Tom said. Some of those facilities are staffed by a rotating staff of doctors, which makes it hard to provide consistent care. Other facilities can't provide the specialized medical care that veterans need, Pavatea said.

Advocates would like to help counselors at each reservation, and many Native American veterans are willing to be trained to do the work, French said. "Unless the Legislature comes up with a way to deal with the problems of Native American vets, we'll fall through the cracks again," said the Mesa vet.

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December 2005 Reports

Last updated on December 17, 2005