Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced S.1046, the Native Americans Veterans’ Memorial Amendments Act, on Thursday.

The Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994 authorized a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian veterans. But it didn't allow the National Museum of the American Indian to raise funds for the project.

S.1046 removes that barrier and clears the way for NMAI to start work on the memorial, which will be built on the museum's property on the National Mall.

“Per capita Native Americans, including American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, serve at a higher rate in the Armed Forces that any other group of Americans and have served in all of the Nation’s wars since the Revolutionary War," Schatz said in a press release. "Our Native veterans have sacrificed their lives for this country and it is important that we recognize their bravery and patriotism with a fitting memorial."

During a conference call yesterday, NMAI Director Kevin Gover said he didn't know how much the memorial will cost. But he said the entire project will be funded by private sources.

The National Congress of American Indians, which Congress designated as the entity to raise funds in the 1994 law, supports the bill.

"NCAI supports the amendments to the Native American Veterans’ Memorial Establishment Act of 1994, which will make the memorial a reality and allow for it to be built on the property of the National Museum of the American Indian,” President Jefferson Keel said in a press release.

Get the Story:
Native American veterans memorial gets legislative push (The Washington Post 5/24
New Native Veterans Memorial Bill to "Make Memorial a Reality" on National Mall (The Native News Network 5/24)