Senate confirms first Native American to lead National Park Service

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles "Chuck" Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency.

The National Park Service oversees more than 131,000 square miles of parks, monuments, battlefields and other landmarks. It employs about 20,000 people in permanent, temporary and seasonal jobs, according to its website.

In Alaska, the agency oversees 15 national parks, preserves, monuments and national historical parks, as well as 13 national wild rivers.

Supporters hailed Sams' confirmation Nov. 18 as a commitment to equitable partnership with tribes, the original stewards of the land.

"I am deeply honored," Sams told the Confederated Umatilla Journal, the newspaper of Umatilla Reservation in Eastern Oregon. "I am also very deeply appreciative of the support, guidance and counsel of my tribal elders and friends throughout my professional career."

Sams is the agency's first Senate-confirmed parks director in nearly five years. It was led by acting heads for years under the Trump administration, and for the first 10 months of Biden's presidency.

During confirmation hearings, Sam noted his experience with nonprofit work that included facilitating land transfers and working with volunteers on conservation and invasive species management, according to Indian Country Today.

He also said he would work to ensure the Indigenous history of National Park Service lands is broadly reflected, in addition to incorporating Indigenous views and knowledge in decision-making. He said it is important to work with Native Americans on traditional ecological knowledge "based on 10,000-plus years of management of those spaces to ensure that they'll be here for future generations to enjoy."

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet secretary, said in August, when President Joe Biden nominated Sams, that he brings diverse experience. The National Park Service is part of the Interior Department.

Sams is Cayuse and Walla Walla and lives on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian. There, he gained a reputation for being unflappable. He has worked in state and tribal governments and the nonprofit natural resource and conservation management fields for over 25 years.

"He is known for being steady at the helm and taking challenges in stride," said Bobbie Conner, director of the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute on the 270-square-mile reservation.

Kat Brigham, chair of the board of trustees of the Confederated Tribes, recalled Sams fishing for salmon in the Columbia River as a young man, standing on a scaffold and using a net, according to tradition.

"I'm very proud, and I think it's very exciting that we have a tribal member who's first in history to be in charge of our National Park Service," Brigham said. "He knows how important our land is. He knows that we need to protect our land, not only for today, but for our children's children."

Sams earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Concordia University-Portland and a master of legal studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma. He is a U.S. Navy veteran.