Colorado made history in March when Gov. Jared Polis appointed Howard Richards Sr. to serve on the state’s board of Veterans Affairs.
Richards was raised on the Southern Ute reservation and lives there to this day. In 1968, he joined the U.S. Army with stops in Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Vietnam.
He went on to co-found the Southern Ute Veterans Association in 1986 and previously served as chairman of the Southern Ute Tribe.
The Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs is tasked with connecting with veteran communities across the state to identify needs and help facilitate state assistance. The state provides county veterans services offices that help connect veterans with federal resources in addition to administering grants to aid veterans, including for issues like medical transportation.
Richards, along with the governor who appointed him, spoke with Colorado Matters about his experience with the military, issues facing Indigenous veterans, and what he hopes to accomplish while on the board.
Read the interview
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ryan Warner: Howard, thanks for being with us.
Howard Richards Sr.: Well, thank you. And I want to thank the governor for such a happy moment in my life, having been appointed to the Board of Veterans Affairs.
Warner: Well, you’ve given away our secret because Gov. Jared Polis, indeed who appointed you is also on the line. Governor, thank you,
Gov. Jared Polis: Ryan. A pleasure to join you. And really, it’s an honor for me to be able — two things, really — elevate the role that Native Americans have played in our nation’s defense. I mean with stories, of course, like the Navajo code talkers in World War II who really confounded and confused the Japanese who didn’t know what they were listening to and, of course, members from all the Tribes who served in conflicts up through today. But also to have that voice and perspective to better meet the needs of our American Indian veterans. Many have unique needs, and I’m hopeful that Howard will help be a bridge to really help serve our Native American veterans — and all veterans — better.
Warner: And we’ll explore those needs and how they are unique to Indigenous people.
I want to say that Howard, your service in the U.S. Army took you to Vietnam, Hawaii, Oklahoma. When you think about your own military service, what part still means the most to you?
Richards: I believe it is the Vietnam conflict. It kind of reminded me, when I was there, that when I was a young man growing up, that our living wasn’t up to par as it was with other members or residents of the state of Colorado. In essence, I grew up poor. And when I went to Vietnam, I saw the poorness of the people there. I guess it kind of mirrored my growing up.
People say Vietnam was a third-world country, but so was the Ute Tribe of Southwest Colorado. We lived some similar lifestyles.
Warner: That is the poverty you saw in Vietnam reminded you of poverty back home. And I am curious if you think economic circumstances drive Indigenous people today to join the military. I mean, no doubt there is a sense of duty, but I wonder if you think poverty means that young people feel that it’s one of their only options. Do you think that’s true?
Richards: I would say no, but in my growing up, I lived it day-to-day, the poverty here at Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute. The reason why a lot of our Tribal people or Native people join is because it’s built-in. They grew up with the willingness to serve not only the country, but they had a duty. And it was an honor to stand up and fight for the red, white, and blue.
Regardless of what those issues are, it is built in us. But a lot of that is driven by the vision that they saw their uncle, their grandpas in World War II, Korea — that vision to see what they did. We as Native people, especially myself, it was inside of me to do that, to answer the call, regardless of where I went or where I was deployed within this…
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