OPINION: Fulfilling our obligations to Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans

The federal government’s responsibility to America’s combat veterans is personal to me. While my dad served two consecutive tours in Vietnam, my siblings and I would send letters to him not knowing if he would come home. Our country’s obligation to our veterans and their families is sacred, and the swift implementation of the Alaska Native Vietnam-Era Veterans Land Allotment Program is no exception. Our department continues to make the success of this program and the availability of land for all eligible veterans a central priority.

The Allotment Program was established by the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act of 2019. Through it, the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, provides eligible individuals the opportunity to select an allotment of up to 160 acres from vacant, unappropriated and unreserved federal lands in Alaska, or, lands selected by the state or Native corporations, if that entity agrees to relinquish that portion of their selection. This federally managed land is offered to Alaska Native Vietnam veterans who did not have access to land allotments while serving our country during the Vietnam War.

In April of last year, I traveled to Anchorage with BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning to hear directly from some of the veterans who have championed this issue for decades. We have similarly had the opportunity to meet with other veterans virtually. We listened to their stories of sacrifice and what land allotments will mean to them and their families.

Hearing them speak, I felt the urgency to fulfill this overdue promise.

The group Tracy and I met with was the first to learn about the Interior Department’s opening of 27 million acres of federal lands to selection by Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans. The decision to make more land available was an important step in upholding our promise to eligible veterans, who previously had only 1.5 million acres to choose from. Importantly, this program does not prevent fulfillment of entitlements under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, which I know has been a concern within the state.

To date, the BLM has issued 12 certificates of allotments, with nearly 300 additional applications currently being processed. We expect this work to increase in speed thanks to additional funding provided by Congress with the leadership of Sen. Lisa Murkowski on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This week, we made an additional 800,000 acres of land in Alaska available for selection. In our discussions, we have listened intently to concerns shared by eligible veterans, many of whom have requested that selection areas closer to their home communities be made available. While the terms of the Dingell Act place large areas of Alaska outside the reach of the Allotment Program, I am committed to using every authority we have to maximize accessibility for our country’s Alaska Native veterans. As the BLM continues to fulfill this promise, I am hopeful that eligible veterans or their heirs will feel empowered to take advantage of this opportunity.

Since the passage of the Dingell Act, the BLM has worked diligently to ensure that every single eligible Alaska Native veteran is aware of their land entitlement and the application process. The Act directed the Departments of Veterans Affairs, or VA, and Defense to provide the Interior Department with a list of eligible veterans, specifically those who served in the Armed Forces between Aug. 5, 1964, and Dec. 31, 1971. This process ultimately produced a list of approximately 1,900 eligible veterans. Subsequently the BLM — in partnership with the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration — got to work finding accurate mailing addresses. We also engaged colleagues from the VA in this research. Thanks to this collaboration, only 100 eligible individuals, or their heirs, remain to be located.

We have left no stone unturned in finding remaining eligible veterans, their heirs, and any not-yet-identified veterans. This includes online and printed advertisements across the country, and community meetings from as far west as Kotzebue and Nome; as far south as Kodiak and Ketchikan; and as far east as Tulalip, Washington, where many Alaska Native veterans and their families have relocated. Undeniably, we are dedicating the time and resources needed to meet this moment.

The Interior Department stands ready to process additional applications as we continue to identify eligible veterans or their heirs. I strongly encourage community members who know an eligible veteran or their heirs to visit the BLM’s program website for information on how to contact the office or contact your Bureau of Indian Affairs Service Provider for assistance.

These land allotments represent our federal government’s unwavering obligation to the Alaska Native Vietnam-era veterans who served our country bravely but missed their chance to receive what they are rightfully owed. It is our duty to set right the scales of justice.

Deb Haaland is the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

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