Charles F. Sams III ( Cayuse and Walla Walla) is an American conservationist who served as the 19th

director of the National Park Service The Director of the National Park Service of the United States is nominated by the President of the United States, President and requires a Senate confirmation. List of directors of the National Park Service There has been 19 directors (plus seve ...

from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Sams is the first Native American to serve as head of the NPS.

Early life and education

Sams is a native of

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city in and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are ...

. His great-great-great-grandfather Peo Peo Mox Mox, the head of the Walla Walla people, was among the signatories of a treaty that established the

Umatilla Indian Reservation The Umatilla Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It was created by The Treaty of 9 June 1855 between the United States and members of the Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. It lies in north ...

. He graduated from Pendleton High School in 1988. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

in 2003 and a Master of Legal Studies from the

University of Oklahoma College of Law The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents. Accordi ...

in 2020.

Early career

From 1988 to 1992, Sams served as an intelligence specialist in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, where he was assigned to VA-128,

Carrier Air Wing Two Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The air wing is currently attached to the aircraft carrier . Subordinate units CVW-2 consists of 8 squadrons and 1 detachment (V ...

Joint Intelligence Center A Joint Intelligence Center (JIC) is a focal point for military intelligence gathered by different Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies and administered by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The intelligence center of the joint force head ...

, and the

Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters The Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters (DIA HQ) is the main operating center of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It is located on the premises of Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in Washington, D.C. Overview DIA Headquarters (sometimes calle ...

. After leaving the navy, Sams was a data analyst and spokesman for the

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are the federally recognized confederations of three Sahaptin-speaking Native Americans of the United States, Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited the Columbia River Plate ...

. When the tribes started a land buyback program, Sams wrote an editorial explaining how the Dawes Allotment Act of 1887 led the reservation to be subdivided and sold to white settlers. He served as executive director and vice president of the Earth Conservation Corps. In 2003 and 2004, he was the executive director of the Community Energy Project. From 2004 to 2006, he was a member of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council. From 2006 to 2010, Sams was the national director of the tribal and native lands program at

the Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

. Sams also held administrative positions at the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation and Indian Country Conservancy. In April 2021, Sams was appointed to serve as a member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council by Oregon Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...

Director of the National Park Service

He was unanimously confirmed as the National Park Service (NPS) director on November 18, 2021, and sworn in on December 16 of the same year. Sams, an enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes, is the first Native American to serve in that position. As director of the NPS, Sams identified improving accessibility in national parks through funds allocated through the

Great American Outdoors Act The Great American Outdoors Act (H.R. 1957) is a piece of legislation passed by the United States Congress, signed by President Donald J. Trump, and activated into Public Law (Public Law No. 116-152) in 2020. It has two major components: fully ...

as a policy priority. In 2022, he stated that the NPS will work to improve how it tells

Native American history Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the Contiguous United States, lower 48 states and A ...

in educational resources.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sams, Charles Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American conservationists Biden administration personnel Cayuse people Concordia University (Oregon) alumni Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Directors of the National Park Service Military personnel from Oregon People from Pendleton, Oregon United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War United States Navy reservists United States Navy sailors University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni Walla Walla people

Early life and education

Early career

Director of the National Park Service

See also

References

External links