Kevin Gover (born February 16, 1955) is currently the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture at the Smithsonian. He had served from 2007 until January 2021 as the director of the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

. A citizen of the

Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma The Pawnee, also known by their endonym (which translates to "Men of Men"), are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains that historically lived in Nebraska and northern Kansas but today are based in Oklahoma. They are the federally recognized ...

, he previously served as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs under President Bill Clinton.

Background and education

Gover was born in 1955 in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

to Indian rights activists Bill and Maggie Gover. He received his bachelor's degree in public and international affairs from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1978. He received his J.D. from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

in 1981.

Career

Until his appointment in the federal government, Gover worked as a lawyer representing Indian tribes and tribal agencies. In 1997 he was nominated by

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. His tenure is most remembered for his apology to the Native American people for the past conduct of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. In addition to his federal service, Gover has served on the faculty of the

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is the law school at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. Created in 1965 as the Arizona State Unive ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

References

1955 births Living people Pawnee people Clinton administration personnel United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel People from Lawton, Oklahoma Princeton University alumni University of New Mexico School of Law alumni National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institution people Directors of museums in the United States {{Oklahoma-politician-stub