The Pentagon changes how it tracks religious affiliation for service members, and Native American traditions are affected by the new system. According to the reports, the Pentagon recategorizes “Native American religion” into a broader “other” grouping after reducing the number of religious affiliation codes. One source says the list shrinks from more than 200 categories to 31, with the Pentagon cutting roughly 180 faiths in a change implemented in May 2026. The Washington Times reports that Native American religion is folded into “other religion,” alongside multiple faiths that are also pushed out of the more specific coding. Another source, The Conversation, frames the policy change in terms of visibility and documentation, arguing that removing a distinct code makes the needs of Native military personnel less visible in military processes that rely on those categories. Both accounts describe the same core development: the Pentagon consolidates religious categories and eliminates a stand-alone code for Native American religion, replacing it with a less specific “other” label.