President Biden selects Amelia Marchand for advisory council

Amelia Marchand was appointed last week as the new Tribal member on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. President Joe Biden appointed Marchand to a term ending June 2028.

"On behalf of our members and staff, I am pleased to welcome Amelia Marchand to the ACHP," Chair Sara C. Bronin said. "Her years of experience in the cultural and natural resources fields, and her expertise in Indigenous Knowledge and climate change, will make her a strong advisor as we move forward in implementing our policy statements on these topics."

Marchand earned a BA in anthropology from Eastern Washington University and an MA in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School, and has a background in anthropology and environmental law and policy.

A citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, she advises governments, academic institutions, and organizations on Indigenous sovereignty and relations, Indigenous Knowledges, and climate issues and is the Senior Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison

with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

Marchand co-founded an Indigenous-led plant and pollinator conservation nonprofit, L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, and volunteers with the Center for World Indigenous Studies, an education, research, and public policy nonprofit. She is a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, and an alumna of Presidential Classroom and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program.

Marchand occupies the position held by Reno Keoni Franklin, who served on the ACHP for nearly 12 years.

"Over the years, I have worked in many different roles to document, protect, and perpetuate Indigenous Knowledges, cultural ecologies, and intangible cultural heritages in ways that honor unique protocols, worldviews, and values," Marchand said. "Yet, I enter this role humbly, willing and able to learn from the great leadership and accomplishments of Chairman Reno Keoni Franklin and his predecessors, as well as the great leaders from my own family and diverse heritage, from all genders and lineages. I may be the first Indigenous woman to serve in the Tribal Member position and the second Indigenous woman to serve on the ACHP, but my ancestors are with me, and I will not be alone, or the last."

Marchand was appointed to the ACHP along with Expert Member Erica Avrami of New Jersey and General Public Member Jane Woodfin of Virginia.

The ACHP, established in 1966 by the National Historic Preservation Act, is an independent federal agency that promotes the economic, educational, environmental, sustainability, and cultural values of historic preservation and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy.