The Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. Photo from Facebook

The Liberty Institute is threatening to sue the Department of Veterans Affairs for shutting down a monthly sweat lodge ceremony.

The VA suspended a substance abuse counselor at the Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, who was in charge of the sweat. Patients have been unable to attend ceremonies as a result.

"The persistent and unlawful hostility and discrimination leveled against the sweat lodge is a direct violation of our clients’ fundamental rights to the free exercise of their religion,” Hiram Sasser, the Liberty Institute's deputy chief counsel, said in a June 24 letter to the VA.

According to the group, the VA shut down the sweat lodge in March but reopened it in April without explanation. Counselor Randy Hilderbrand, a member of the Cherokee Nation was then told to remove certain religious items -- including an eagle feather staff -- from his office because a supervisor deemed them to be "ugly," the letter stated.

Following a meeting in May in which the issue appeared to have been resolved, Hilderbrand was suspended last month for reasons that aren't revealed in the letter. The June sweat was canceled as a result and it looks like the July ceremony won't take place either.

The dispute has drawn the attention of Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas). In a June 29 letter, he said the VA has stopped responding to his request for information about "serious allegations of religious hostility" at the facility.

According to the Liberty Institute, Hilderbrand had been conducting ceremonies at the VA without incident since 2008.

Get the Story:
Attorney: Religious liberty applies to all (One News Now 7/17)
Religious group threatens suit over VA sweat lodge dispute (AP 7/16)
Group allege religious discrimination at Wichita VA hospital (AP 6/24)