WASHINGTON – A Veterans Day dedication ceremony and veterans procession to mark the completion of the National Native American Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. have been postponed.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, which is home to the memorial, announced Aug. 4 that the events will be rescheduled when it is safe to do so.

The museum will hold a virtual event on Veterans Day (Nov. 11) to recognize the completion of the memorial that honors the contributions of American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians who served in the military. Marine Corps veteran Harvey Platt (Cheyenne and Araphaho Tribes of Oklahoma) designed the memorial.

The Seminole Tribe’s Stephen Bowers, a Vietnam War veteran who passed away June 1, 2020, served on the memorial’s advisory committee and had worked for years to get a Native American veterans memorial built in Washington.