October 13, 2017 - North Fork – CalVet Secretary Vito Imbasciani, MD was honored to attend a Native American Veterans Gathering hosted by Gary Walker, Tribal Chairman of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California on Thursday.

Approximately 40 members of the Tribe, primarily military veterans and tribal leaders, attended the gathering to share their thoughts about access to veterans benefits for their members.

"Native Americans have served in every conflict, in larger percentages than any other group," said Dr. Imbasciani. "California is home to the largest Native American veteran population in the United States, more than 13,000. Yet California's Native veterans face barriers to accessing their earned veterans benefits. I am meeting with tribes to understand what those obstacles are and what avenues may be available through CalVet to address them."

"Our people have disproportionately lacked adequate access to services and opportunities for education, employment, health care, housing, and VA claims, among other things," said Walker. "For these reasons and others, we look forward to moving ahead on how our governments and peoples can work together with CalVet to improve the conditions and opportunities of our vets who we honor today and all days for their great service and dedication to our nation and people."

Topics included the Department of Veterans Affairs' recent rule change that will allow CalVet to certify veteran service officers to file claims on tribal lands. Participants also discussed veteran healthcare and housing concerns and creation of a tribal veterans cemetery.

This was the first in a series of meetings planned with Native American tribes across the state. The next meeting is scheduled for October 23rd at the Rincon Tribal Hall in Valley Center, CA.

Native Americans have served with distinction in the U.S. military for more than 200 years. Twenty-nine Native Americans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration. There are 140,000 Native American veterans in the United States, including 16,000 women veterans. Today, more than 30,000 Native men and women are serving our country in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places around the world.

The North Fork Rancheria is a sovereign Native American government of nearly 2,000 tribal citizens based in Madera County, California. Since the restoration of its federally-recognized status in 1983, the Tribe has established modern tribal governing institutions to improve the lives of its tribal citizens, many of whom have limited access to basic housing, healthcare, employment, education and opportunity.
Source: CalVet