Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has published an updated Tribal Consultation Policy. This updated policy is the result of several consultations that were held in 2021, as well as the work of the VA Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs. USET SPF submitted comments to VA regarding their Tribal Consultation Policy in 2021.
Following the consultation sessions in 2021, VA considered the recommendations made by Tribal Nations and organizations, which they compiled into a summary report that describes how VA intends to address those recommendations in the revised policy.
Within the policy, VA incorporated many of the recommendations made by Tribal Nations and organizations, including:
- Acknowledgement of VA's trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations and Tribal Nations' inherent sovereignty
- Inclusion of the Supreme Court's Indian Canons of Construction as VA's methodology for interpreting ambiguous language
- Requirement of a post-consultation summary from VA following Tribal consultations and comment periods
- Utilization of the List Act Definition of Indian Tribe
USET SPF appreciates the inclusion of these provisions, many of which have been long-standing priorities for Tribal Nations within federal Tribal consultation policies.
VA will accept written comments on the draft updated Tribal Consultation Policy until March 11, 2024 at TribalGovernmentConsultation@va.gov. USET SPF intends to submit comments to VA on this topic, and will provide updates when appropriate.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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