W. Rick West, attorney and member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, is director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). West has devoted his professional life and much of his personal life to working with American Indians on cultural, educational, legal, and governmental issues.

Before becoming director of NMAI, West was a partner in the Washington, DC office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, and subsequently, in the Indian-owned Albuquerque law firm of Gover, Stetson, Williams & West, P.C. He served as general counsel and special counsel to numerous Indian tribes and organizations. In that capacity, he represented clients before federal, state, and tribal courts, various executive departments of the federal government and Congress.

West's current board affiliations and memberships include: American Indian Lawyer Training Program, Inc. (1973-present); University of Redlands (1993-present); National Trust for Historic Preservation (1994-present); Bush Foundation (1991-present); National Support Committee of the Native American Rights Fund (1990-present); Advisory Committee of the Winslow Foundation (1991-present); and Committee on Conscience National Advisory Forum of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (1996-present).

He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Museums, the nation's only national membership organization representing all types of museums and museum professionals. His chairmanship will be for a two-year term that began in May 1998. From 1992-1995 and 1997-1998, he served as Member-at-Large of the Association's Board of Directors and in 1995-1996 as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.

As director of the National Museum of the American Indian, West is responsible for guiding the successful opening of the three facilities that will comprise the National Museum of the American Indian. He oversaw the completion of the George Gustav Heye Center, the museum's exhibition facility which opened in New York City on October 30, 1994, and continues to supervise the overall planning of the museum's Cultural Resources Center, which will house the NMAI's vast one-million object collection, completed in Suitland, M.D. in 1999. West's philosophy and vision for the museum have been critical in guiding the architectural planning of the Mall museum, which is scheduled to open on the last available site on the National Wall in Washington, D.C., in 2002.

West devotes considerable time and energy to the museum's fundraising efforts. As part of the legislation establishing the National Museum of the American Indian, it was mandated by Congress that one-third of the construction costs of the Mall museum be raised from nonfederal sources. The total cost of the Mall museum is estimated to be $110 million. The first part of this fundraising goal of $36.7 million was realized on September 30, 1996. West will continue to oversee the fundraising campaign of the museum, which will provide for an endowment and ongoing education and outreach programs.

Further Information:
Washington Post article: Friday, September 13, 2002

More Info:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/

Back to Resources page