Tribal flags removed from Phoenix VA hospital under new federal policy
Shondiin Silversmith
(Arizona Mirror) The flags of Arizona’s 22 tribal nations have been removed from the Carl. T. Hayden VA Medical Center in central Phoenix and given to the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community for preservation.
“I was surprised and appalled when the staff of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital dropped off all 22 Arizona Tribal Nation flags at our office, explaining that they could no longer display them,” Ricardo Leonard, vice president of the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community, said in a statement.
The flags were removed on March 18, according to the SRPMIC’s Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
“Not only is this nonsensical, but it dishonors all Native American veterans and their families who have given so much to protect this country,” Leonard, a U.S. Army veteran, added.
The move comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Defense deleting websites about the Navajo Code Talkers who were instrumental to America’s victory in the Pacific Theater in World War II.
Leonard is calling on the Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins to restore the display of all tribal nation flags at the Phoenix VA hospital, as well as to continue the recognition of tribal nations for their deep commitment to military service.
“It should be common sense that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs honors the great legacy of Native American veterans of the 22 Tribal Nations in Arizona,” Leonard said in his statement. “It would be a tragedy if the VA chooses not to repost the flags.”
Indigenous people across the United States serve in the armed forces at five times the national average, according to the National Indian Council on Aging, and have served with distinction in every major conflict for over 200 years.
Arizona has one of the largest Native voting populations in the country, with more than 305,000 of voting age, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Indigenous people make up 6% of Arizona’s overall population.
The removal of the flags comes as part of a new flag policy implemented by the Department of Veteran Affairs that limits the display of flags at VA facilities.
“The policy is intended to establish consistency across the department and aligns with longstanding Department of Defense guidelines,” the VA stated in a news release. The policy applies to all VA facilities, including offices, government vehicles, medical centers, common areas and parking lots.
The only flags allowed to be displayed include the U.S. flag, flags of U.S. states and territories, military service flags, VA flags and official flags of U.S. agencies.
And flags representing prisoners of war/missing in action (POW/MIA), Senior Executive Service (SES), military command units and burial flags for honoring Veterans and reservists are permitted.
“All Veterans and VA beneficiaries will always be welcome at all VA facilities to receive the benefits and services they have earned under the law,” Collins said in a press release.
“This policy will bring consistency and simplicity to the display of flags throughout the department, ensuring a singular focus on serving the needs of Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors,” he added.
In a statement emailed to the Arizona Mirror, VA Public Affairs Officer Jessica Jacobsen said, “Under the VA’s new flag policy, like all sovereign-nation flags, those of federally recognized Indian tribes are only permitted to fly at VA facilities during dignitary visits or special ceremonies.”
Jacobsen said there is one exception to the policy at the VA’s Cherokee Nation Medical Clinic in Oklahoma. The clinic is located on tribal lands, and the Cherokee Nation flag is allowed to fly there.
“Flags of federally recognized tribal flags can still be flown at national cemeteries for Memorial Day, Veterans Day and other special events attended by a senior Tribal official,” according to the statement.
Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis described the removal of the flags as deeply concerning, emphasizing that it disregards the longstanding acknowledgment that tribes and their members hold political statuses, not racial classifications.
“The Supreme Court has recognized the critical importance of this distinction and so should any policy from the federal government,” he said in a statement.
“What is particularly inappropriate is that the new policy apparently allows any political sovereign in the state of Arizona to have its flag displayed except an Indian tribe,” he added.
Lewis stated that the Gila River Indian Community is a “Purple Heart Community” because 67 tribal members have received the Purple Heart for their sacrifices.
“This is an insult to the tribal members who serve in our armed forces at a higher per capita rate than any other group in America, and the removal of these flags sends a harmful message that their sacrifices are being diminished or erased,” he said.
Lewis urged the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reconsider this policy and restore the display of Arizona’s tribal flags at the Phoenix VA hospital.
“An exemption should be granted for tribal flags, given the unique sovereign status of federally recognized tribes and their profound contributions to our nation’s military,” he added.
And U.S. Congressional Rep. Greg Stanton said he is “outraged” by the reports of the removal, calling it an insult to Native veterans in a letter to the Secretary of Veteran Affairs requesting it be corrected.
“All 22 flags were unceremoniously dropped off at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with little explanation,” he wrote in the letter.
Stanton said that Native Americans have served the United States in every major conflict, and many serve now.
“They have sacrificed, bled and died for this country,” he added. “Removing the flags of Arizona’s sovereign tribal nations from the U.S. government building where Native veterans go to seek care after they’ve returned home is an insult to their service.”
Stanton requested that it be immediately corrected.
The Hualapai Tribe’s chairman released a statement and expressed his appreciation to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for protecting the Hualapai flag alongside the other Arizona tribes .
“Your immediate advocacy and public statement condemning this disrespectful act have resonated deeply within our community and across Indian Country,” said Duane Clarke, chairman of the Hualapai Tribe.
“We stand in solidarity with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and all other Arizona tribal nations in demanding that the VA rectify this egregious error,” he said.