ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 18, 2021
President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated Oregon resident and tribal citizen Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III to head the National Park Service. If confirmed by the Senate, Sams would be the first Native American to hold the position. He is Cayuse and Walla Walla and a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Sams has worked in state and tribal governments and the nonprofit natural resource and conservation management fields for over 25 years.