Residents Upset About Canceled VA Event
Residents of the Fort Peck Reservation are expressing disappointment that a Veterans Affairs’ clinic was canceled earlier this month in Poplar.
Justin Dupree, Fort Peck Tribes’ chair of the veterans, elders and youth committee, said that local officials were told back in November about holding the clinic in April. After months of planning, Dupree received a call in the late afternoon of Friday, April 4, from the Montana VA tribal liaison stating that the event needed to be canceled.
Dupree attempted to spread word about the cancellation, but veterans from Malta, Plentywood, Glasgow and Sidney still showed up on April 7 for the scheduled clinic.
“It’s just disrespectful and ugly that they did this,” Dupree said.
He added that he was told that the decision was made higher than the state level. A letter from said state tribal liaison Buck Richardson that they ran into “some internal paperwork issues at the last minute.”
Dupree said a similar event was also canceled on the Crow Agency for Tuesday. A healthcare mobile exam trailer was, however, spotted in Sidney on Tuesday.
“This is a slap in the face to veterans. To me, it looks like they don’t want to serve veterans on the reservation,” Dupree said. “These veterans deserve an apology and explanation why.”
Emails sent by this newspaper to U.S. Sens. Steve Daines’ and Tim Sheehy’s offices went unanswered.
Dupree noted that about 25 veterans total showed up for the canceled clinic in Poplar. He said there’s only one service officer for eastern Montana. The officer comes to Poplar once a month for three hours.
Dupree recently testified in Helena in support of Senate Bill 95. The bill, which has passed the Senate, seeks to allocate $300,000 for suicide prevention efforts for veterans and service members.
