The first Native American to lead the National Park Service has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a voice vote last week.
It was considered to be unanimous approval for Charles “Chuck” Sams III to be the new director of the Service which means he will be in charge of the seven sites run by the National Park Service in Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Sams is the agency’s first Senate-confirmed parks director in nearly five years reported the Associated Press. It was led by acting heads for years under the Trump administration, and for the first 10 months of Biden’s presidency. Jonathan Jarvis, who was confirmed as park service director in 2009, left the agency in January 2017.
The National Park Service oversees more than 131,000 square miles (339,000 square kilometers) of parks, monuments, battlefields and other landmarks. It employs about 20,000 people in permanent, temporary and seasonal jobs, according to its website.
While there are no official national parks in Oklahoma, the agency is in charge of seven sites in the state including the The Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Cheyenne; The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail center in Tahlequah; The Santa Fe National Historic Trail near Boise City; The Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma City; John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa; The Fort Smith National Historic Site on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border; and The Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur.
