http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/11/AR200709110
2111.html

Former Interior Official To Lead Indian Museum

By Jacqueline Trescott and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 12, 2007; C01

The Smithsonian Institution yesterday named Kevin Gover, a lawyer and
former Interior Department official with no museum experience, to succeed
W. Richard West as director of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Gover, an Oklahoma Pawnee and former assistant secretary for Indian affairs
at the Interior Department, is a former law partner of West, the museum's
founding director. His office at Interior oversaw the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, historically one of the most contentious agencies in the federal
government.

For the past four years, Gover has been a professor at the Sandra Day
O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in Tempe.

"I came to this decision rather slowly. I knew the museum was looking for a
director and I was one of the people who wondered who could replace Rick.
But I got more and more interested. A key factor is that it is a glorious
building with wonderful exhibits and collections. The basic things you need
for a good museum are already there," Gover said.

Sheila Burke, the outgoing Smithsonian deputy secretary and chief operating
officer, was chairman of the search committee that recommended Gover.
Smithsonian Acting Secretary Cristi?n Samper made the final decision.

Burke said Gover's lack of museum experience wasn't a factor because West,
a lawyer, had provided "the world's best example of how that could work."
Tim Johnson, the museum's associate director, was among the finalists,
according to someone close to the process.

Burke said Gover was chosen over 10 candidates because "he has a strong
presence, is committed to Indian country and the value and role of the
museum in that community." West said Gover's lifelong work with Indian
nations qualified him for the job. "He is a dedicated, competent public
servant," West said. "He has good standing with the native community
itself. He is a public figure who is well known and whose service to the
native community is clear."

Suzan Shown Harjo, a writer and prominent voice for Indian rights, endorsed
the selection. "I think he is perfect. He is very analytical about systems,
management, how to run things. There is so much going on at the museum and
he knows how to sort out priorities," she said.

During his tenure in Washington, Gover was at the center of the storm over
tribal rights, tribal recognition, the role of the BIA and the billions of
dollars held in trust by the government for the tribes.

In 1999, Gover, along with then-Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin and
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, was held in contempt by U.S. District
Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who said the officials hadn't turned over the
records from the trust fund to lawyers representing Native Americans in a
lawsuit. Lamberth was later removed from the case.

"It is still being resolved. The department is still producing the
information it promised," Gover said. Harjo opposed the government in that
dispute but says she was pleased that Gover was urging the government to
settle the case. "I certainly encouraged the department to seek a
settlement," Gover said.

He also apologized in a widely covered speech about the role of the BIA in
Indian matters, saying the agency had a "legacy of racism and inhumanity."
In the 2000 speech, he also said, "this agency participated in the ethnic
cleansing that befell the western tribes."

Within days of his resignation, he joined Steptoe & Johnson, a law firm
that had an Indian practice group and was representing tribes dealing with
the BIA. Five days before joining the firm, Gover ruled in favor of the
Wisconsin Menominee in their bid for a casino in Kenosha, Wis. The tribe
had been represented by Steptoe & Johnson, the Star Tribune of
Minneapolis reported at the time.

However, tribes are considered governmental agencies and therefore exempt
from the kind of revolving-door lobbying regulations that would apply to
federal officials who go to work for corporations. Efforts to change the
law have been introduced in Congress, but have not passed.

After Gover left Interior, news stories reported on activities that could
have created the appearance of a conflict of interest, said Meredith
McGehee, policy director of the Campaign Legal Center. "In a situation like
this, it makes you wonder if this individual is tone-deaf to questions of
appearance," McGehee said yesterday.

Within days of leaving the government, Gover wrote letters to tribes
seeking lobbying work, according to stories by the Associated Press.

"I practiced Indian law before the government and went back to the law
practice after government. The law says you can't go to work for a state or
local government on an issue you worked on at Interior. I avoided those,"
Gover said yesterday.

Burke said he was questioned about those reports.

"He was in full compliance with the rules," she said.

The Indian museum, the Smithsonian's newest, opened in September 2004. The
director's responsibilities also include managing the George Gustav Heye
Center in New York and a Cultural Resources Center in Suitland.

The museum on the Mall attracted 2.2 million visitors in 2005, its first
full year, but traffic fell to 1.6 million last year. Since January it has
had 1.3 million visitors.

The museum's founders vowed to present Indian history differently, starting
with the involvement of tribal curators in the development of the exhibits
and telling stories from a Native American point of view. Its presentations
left visitors confused.

Gover said one of his tasks is to make sure people understand what stories
the museum is telling. "It is very easy for me to walk in and understand
what the museum is saying to me. I want to think about how to give the
visitors enough context," he said.

He said he would like to see more scholarship at the museum. "I would like
to see the museum more active in publications. I want to see more
high-profile activity in bringing in smart guys to give lectures."

Gover studied at the St. Paul's prep school, then Princeton University, and
earned his law degree at the University of New Mexico.

Gover twice worked at the same firms as West, first in Washington briefly
at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Kampelman and then at a firm Gover
co-founded in Albuquerque. West was a partner at Gover, Stetson &
Williams before leaving to be director of the Indian museum.

West said there was no question of a conflict because that association was
20 years ago. West was a resource, Gover said. "I had a friend I could call
and ask how are things shaping up," he said.

In 1992, he organized Native Americans for Clinton/Gore. He did the same in
1996.

West announced last October that he would be leaving his post this year,
having shepherded the museum from the drawing board to a prominent spot on
the Mall. He spent 17 years developing the museum.