Gerard Baker, whose tenure as superintendent at Mount Rushmore National Memorial has sometimes been marked by controversy, will be assistant director for American Indian Relations at the National Park Service.

“The National Park Service faces important cultural and natural resource issues with First Americans,” National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis said in making yesterday’s announcement.

“I’ve asked Gerard to represent me and the National Park Service with tribes across our country to work on issues I believe will further the goals of the National Park Service and goals of First Americans.”

Baker, who is Mandan-Hidatsa from the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, Baker was the first Native American appointed superintendent of Mount Rushmore, the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal reports here. Throughout his time in the Park Service, he’s worked to include Native American perspectives.

“This is really a natural next step in my career, and it’s what I’ve been doing all my life: learning about people, our history and culture, talking to others and sharing stories and learning to appreciate other perspectives. It’s an opportunity we in the National Park Service can’t miss,” Baker says.

As the Journal reports, Baker went through a rocky patch recently in his 30-year career with the Park Service:

Baker drew fire from his critics last July when Greenpeace demonstrators scaled the monument to unfurl a protest banner. Baker stepped in front of cameras and microphones the next day to assure everyone that the monument’s security systems had worked as designed. A Park Service investigation revealed that parts of the security system were either inoperable or not functioning properly.

Retired South Dakota Highway Patrol officer Terry Mayes of Rapid City said he holds Baker personally responsible for the security breach. Mayes was on a committee that recommended security changes after an earlier demonstration at the memorial. The committee made suggestions that led to the spending of several million dollars for security improvements that were not operating properly last July, he said.

Baker had a stroke last year and took medical leave. He returned to work in Mount Rushmore in January.

Gwen Florio

Tags: American Indian Relations, buffalo post, Fort Berthold Reservation, Gerard Baker, Greenpeace, Gwen Florio, Mandan-Hidatsa, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, National Park Servce, Native American news

That’s the idea behind a new tourism promotion campaign in South Dakota, which – along with the Oglala Lakota tribe – is marketing the Native American heritage within the state as a way to draw visitors.

The campaign features education programs at Badlands National Park, Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore National Memorial, as well as on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, according to this announcement.

The new Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce, a volunteer group formed to boost the reservation’s economy, is part of the three-year exchange. The chamber is in Kyle, in the center of the reservation and near the Oglala Lakota College campus. A new motel and restaurant is located there.

“This agreement is intended to be mutually beneficial,” says chamber executive director Ivan Sorbel. “This joint promotion will significantly enhance the opportunities at all the sites for visitors to learn about Native American history and culture.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: Badlands National Park, buffalo post, Crazy Horse Memorial, Gwen Florio, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Native American news, Oglala Lakota College, Oglala Lakota Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Tourism

Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent Gerard Baker, who is Mandan and Hidatsa, has been on leave since having a stroke last year. His past Park Service experience includes tenure at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana and the Knife River Indian Villages in North Dakota. Baker is well-known – and sometimes controversial – for his insistence upon including presentations of Native history and culture at his various postings. Here’s the whole story from Steve Miller in today‘s Rapid City Journal:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent Gerard Baker said Wednesday that he is fully recovered from a stroke he suffered in November and has felt great since he returned to work full time last week.

“I’m back and I’m more fired up than ever, in a positive sense,” he said.

Baker, 56, is a 31-year National Park Service veteran and said he plans to make Mount Rushmore his last career stop.

“I have no intention of going any other place,” Baker said. “I came here five years ago with the intention that this is my last national park site.”

Baker wants to remain at Rushmore until 2016, the 100th birthday of the National Park Service.

“What better time to retire than that birthday year.”

Tags: buffalo post, Gerard Baker, Knife River Indian VIllages, Little Bighorn Battlefield, Mandan-Hidatsa, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, National Park Service, Native American news

Gerard Baker, the Mount Rushmore superintendent who came under fire after Greenpeace activists climbed onto the monuments last summer, is on a medical leave of absence, the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal reports here.

“He did go to the hospital last week because he was not feeling well, and he is at home,” says Chief of interpretation Navnit Singh “He has a lot of accumulated leave. And he’s going to be taking some time off. While he’s doing that, we have an acting superintendent.”

As the Journal reports, Baker came under intense scrutiny after July 8, when Greenpeace activists climbed up onto the presidential images and unfurled a banner with President Barack Obama’s face and a message urging action on global warming.

Although Baker said memorial security was functioning that day, it turned out that some cameras weren’t working.

Baker, who is Mandan and Hidatsa and whose past Park Service experience includes tenure at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana and the Knife River Indian Villages in North Dakota, is well-known – if not always appreciated – for his insistence upon including presentations of Native history and culture at his various postings.

John Scott, superintendent at the Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas, is in South Dakota and will serve as acting superintendent in Baker’s absence.

“Just because of the extraordinary activity the park has had, the decision was made to bring in an acting (superintendent) while Gerard was off,” Singh said.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Gerard Baker, Greenpeace, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Native American news, Pea Ridge National Military Park