On February 6, 2021 the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe signed a memorandum of agreement which allows the agency to provide Veteran Service Officer training, accreditation, and technical support to the Cowlitz Indian Tribes’ Tribal Veterans Representative.
This agreement was made possible by a federal rule change in 2017 that improved the ability for state veteran agencies and federally recognized Indian tribes to collaborate in their efforts to provide culturally appropriate services to Native American veterans and their families. This is the sixth memorandum of agreement the agency has signed as a result of this rule change. There are approximately 5,000 American Indian and Alaska Native veterans in the state and this group serves in the United States armed forces at a higher rate than any other ethnic group.