Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chair Sara C. Bronin today announced that Ira L. Matt, Director of the Office of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples, was selected for a detail at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Ira will serve as OSTP's first-ever Assistant Director for Indigenous Engagement and Native American Affairs. His appointment was announced at the 2023 Tribal Nations Summit in early December.

OSTP, a part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP), is a department of the United States government, established by Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.

“Ira’s selection for this detail reflects a recognition of his longstanding record of leadership on crucial issues and policies related to the protection of cultural resources, historic properties, and sacred sites of importance to Tribes, Native Hawaiians, and other Indigenous communities, both in the United States and internationally,” Chair Bronin said. “On behalf of my fellow ACHP members and the entire ACHP staff, I congratulate Ira on this opportunity, and we all look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role.”

Among his responsibilities, Ira Matt will co-chair the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Indigenous Knowledge, helping to advance the Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous Knowledge document released during the 2022 Tribal Nations Summit and working to develop additional guidance and resources related to Indigenous Knowledge. He also will lead OSTP’s engagement with Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiians, and other Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. and internationally. By serving in the Executive Office of the President, Ira will be able to elevate consideration of cultural resources and sacred sites to ensure they are accounted for at the highest levels of government.

Ira Matt has more than 24 years of historic preservation and cultural resources management experience at both the Tribal and federal levels. In addition to his work at the ACHP, he has served as the Federal Preservation Officer/National Archaeologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and as a Tribal Affairs Specialist for the Department of Energy.

Prior to joining federal service, he worked for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes for 16 years in various capacities, including as Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Resource Advisor, Tribal Archaeologist, and as a Wildland Firefighter. During this time, he regularly worked with the Cultural Committees and Elder Advisory Boards, Tribal Council, and Salish Kootenai College to generate positive outcomes in cultural resources management by implementing historic preservation as a tool to effectuate cultural perpetuation.

Ira Matt is Salish and an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of western Montana. He received his BA and MA in anthropology from the University of Montana and a Master of Jurisprudence in Indian Law from the University of Tulsa College of Law.