President Biden nominated Charles “Chuck” Sams III to be the next director of the National Park Service on August 18. If confirmed by the Senate, Sams would be the first Native American to lead the agency and the 19th permanent director in the Park Service’s 105-year history, the first permanent director of the Park Service since 2017.

Nominated by Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Sams is a former longtime administrator of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. Sams also previously worked in state and tribal government jobs and the nonprofit natural resource and conservation management field for more than 25 years.

Sams is the second Native American to hold a major post in Biden administration after Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to become Secretary of the Interior.