Native History Is Being Erased By The Arizona Government

Before America was America, banded together under the banner of Red, White, and Blue, it was home to another civilization, or rather, multiple civilizations.

Since the arrival of English colonists at Plymouth Rock, Native identities and history have been systemically wiped from the face of this country, and Arizona has unfortunately taken it one step further.

 The V.A. Incident

Across the state of Arizona, Veteran Affairs (VA) offices have proudly flown the flags of the 22 tribal nations that lay within our borders. This isn't just out of respect, natives across America have the highest serving rate, standing at five times above the national average.

Well, on March 18th of 2025, the Carl. T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix removed these flags, and sent them back to the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community. Many tribal leaders have spoken out against this, but their pleas for representation have fallen upon deaf ears.

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Why Were These Flags Removed?

This follows the recent controversy when the Pentagon removed any mention of native tribes from their official websites, including scrubbing a page dedicated to the Navajo Code Talkers, a primary reason we won World War II.

The flags were removed under a new directive from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which only allows certain flags to be flown at VA offices. The allowed flags are:

• U.S. Flag
• Flags of U.S. States or Territories
• Military Service/VA Flags
• POW/MIA Flags
• Senior Executive Service Flags
• Military Command Unit Flags
• Burial Flags

The DVA claims that this is “intended to establish consistency across the department and aligns with longstanding Department of Defense guidelines", but with almost every trace of indigenous support in the military being erased, tribes in Arizona have begun getting nervous.

[Native News Online][Veterans Affairs]