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Sources Sought - 36C25924Q0323 VISN 19 American Indian/Alaskan Native Ceremonies This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY and is NOT a request for quotes. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Netwo... Sources Sought - 36C25924Q0323 VISN 19 American Indian/Alaskan Native Ceremonies This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY and is NOT a request for quotes. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office (NCO) 19, 6162 South Willow Drive, Suite 300, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, is conducting market research to determine the availability of sources to provide a variety of American Indian/Alaskan Native Ceremonies. I. Description of Requirement: Contractors shall be responsible for providing qualified Pipe Carriers, Traditional Healers, other appropriate traditional healers, and all other necessary personnel, materials, and equipment to conduct Traditional Native ceremonies and other services to include: 1. Sweat Lodge Ceremonies, Talking Circle Ceremonies, Smudge Ceremony, and End of Life Ceremonies 2. Sending of Tribal representatives to a Tribal Veterans Representative Training Events (includes lodging, meals, associated taxes, and mileage) 3. Tear down and buildup of Big Lodge ceremony - Government provides the Tarp, stakes, wood poles, and rope; Contractor shall provide everything else. 4. Tear down and buildup of Sweat Lodge ceremony - Government provides the Tarp and rope; Contractor shall provide everything else. 5. Sweat Lodge Rock ceremony - This is for the looking for, finding, hauling, and associated ceremonies involved in the process. 6. Cultural/Religious Training for VA employees with a maximum of 6 instructors at a time 7. Honoring ceremonial drummers with a maximum of 4 drummers at a time 8. Spiritual counseling of a Veteran in accordance with Traditional Native healing practices 9. Ceremonial Singers 10. The contractor shall be responsible to provide for non-structure materials (such as rocks, wood, and water) necessary to conduct the ceremony or ceremonies. II. Places of Performance: The ceremonies shall take place on VA grounds at each of the VA facilities listed below, or alternate off-site locations approved by the VA prior to the ceremony. VA Montana Health Care System, 1892 Williams St, Fort Harrison, MT 59636 Cheyenne VA Medical Center (VAMC), 2360 E Pershing Blvd, Cheyenne, WY 82001 VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, 1700 N Wheeling Street, Aurora, CO 80045 VA Western Colorado Health Care System, 2121 North Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501 Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center, 1011 Honor Heights Dr., Muskogee, OK 74401 Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, 921 NE 13th St, Oklahoma City, OK 73104 VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, 500 Foothill Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84148 Sheridan VAMC, 1898 Fort Rd., Sheridan, WY 82801 III. Period of Performance: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029 IV. Additional Information: Due to the large geographic size of VISN 19, as well as the differences in the Tribal Nations living within each region, it may be necessary to award multiple contracts for this requirement. The contractor shall use their connections/relationships with the local Tribal Nations to build a database of qualified, approved traditional healers for the appropriate ceremonies. In the event the ceremony requires an individual from a Tribal Nation outside the station catchment area, the contractor shall work with the NCO 19 Contracting Office and the Program Office Representative to open communications with the appropriate Tribal Nation. The Tribal nations covered by each catchment area are: Montana Assiniboine, Sioux, Blackfeet, Salish, Kootenai, Chippewa, Cree, Crow, Apsaalooke, Northern Cheyenne Cheyenne Lakota Sioux Eastern Colorado Lakota Sioux Grand Junction Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute Muskogee Alabama Quassarte, Cherokee, Delaware, Eastern Shawnee, Euchee (Yuchi), Kialegee, Miami, Modoc, Muscogee (Creek), Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Peoria, Quapaw, Seneca-Cayuga, Shawnee, Keetoowah Cherokee, Wyandotte Oklahoma City Absentee Shawnee, Apache, Caddo, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Potawatomi, Comanche, Delaware, Iowa, Kaw, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Otoe-Missouria, Ponca, Sac & Fox, Seminole, Thlopthlocco, Tonkawa, Wichita Salt Lake City Goshute, Shoshone, Paiute, Elko, Te-Moak, Navajo, Ute Sheridan Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapahoe V. Response Instructions: Please respond by email to Aaron M. Thurber, Contract Specialist, at aaron.thurber@va.gov, no later than March, 27, 2024, 10:00 AM, local Mountain Time. Please include the following information in your response: 1. Specific services listed in Section I your organization can provide. 2. VISN 19 stations listed in Section II your organization can service. 3. Level of familiarity/interaction with the various Tribal Nations within the catchment areas listed in Section IV. VI. RFI Disclaimer: This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY and is NOT a request for quotes.