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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
December 29, 2021
New Parks director faces a ‘huge task’
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Record annual atten-
dance numbers. Low morale
among employees. Billions
of dollars in maintenance
needs.
Those are just some of
the challenges Charles
‘Chuck’ Sams III will have
to tackle as director of the
National Park Service after
officially taking leadership in
a swearing-in ceremony in
December. Sams becomes
the first Native American to
hold the position.
His boss is Deb Haaland,
Laguna Pueblo, the Interior
secretary and first Indig-
enous person to hold a cabi-
Charles Sams
net-level position.
Sams’ background and
citizenship with the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reser vation also
means some are optimistic
he’ll work to improve how
the agency and its hundreds
of national parks, historic
sites, monuments and recre-
ation areas work with tribal
nations and incorporate their
history and culture.
“Everyone should have
access to the outdoors no
matter where they live, how
much money they have, or
what their background is,”
Secretary Haaland said.
“Chuck Sams understands
the importance of connect-
ing people to nature, and I am
thrilled to work with him as
the Interior Department
works to make our national
park system accessible to all
Americans.”
CRITFC welcomes new director
Aja DeCoteau grew up on
the Yakama Indian Reserva-
tion in Washington, and she
fondly remembers fishing in
the Columbia River Basin and
hunting with her family as she
learned about the importance
of Indigenous First Foods.
Still, she thought she’d end
up working as a medical doc-
tor someday. But after high
school she got a job with her
tribe’s forestry department,
and then during breaks and
summers in college, she kept
finding herself working in
natural resources.
“I have great memories of
going hunting with my brother
and sister and trout fishing with
my dad. I feel like I've always
had an interest in my environ-
ment,” Ms. DeCoteau said.
“And, of course, knowing
the importance of what we
call First Foods to our cul-
ture and our religion is some-
thing that has always been a
part of who I am.”
Those summers working in
forestry for her tribe led her
to a career in natural re-
sources instead of medicine.
Eventually, that led her to the
Portland-headquartered Co-
lumbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission, CRITFC,
which represents the interests
of the four Columbia River
treaty tribes in policy, advo-
cacy and management of the
basin. The Confederated
Tribes are among the charter
members of the organization.
Now, 12 years after join-
ing CRITFC, Aja was named
its executive director, mark-
ing the first time a woman has
Aja DeCoteau
ever held the position.
The organization an-
nounced DeCoteau as the
new executive director in
November, after she had
served in the role on an in-
terim basis since April, after
the previous executive direc-
tor, Jaime Pinkham, was ap-
pointed to a high-ranking job
with the federal government.
It’s a position that
DeCoteau—who is a citizen
of the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama
Nation and descendent of
the Cayuse, Nez Perce and
Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa Indians—has al-
ways wanted to hold since
coming to CRITFC.
“I am honored and ex-
cited to lead CRITFC and
work together with our
member tribes to bridge tra-
ditional knowledge, scientific
expertise and cultural con-
nection to ensure that we
have salmon and other natu-
ral resources for generations
to come,” DeCoteau said.
While she’s excited for the
opportunity—and honored
to be the first woman leader
of CRITFC in its nearly 50-
year history—she takes over
at a pivotal time for the or-
ganization amid a series of
challenges, including climate
change, dwindling salmon
populations and questions
over the future of dams and
hydropower.