Gerard Baker

present day

Gerard Baker is a full-blooded Hidatsa-Mangan Native American who currently serves as the Superintendent for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. He is the first Native American ever to do so, and the highest ranking Native American in the U.S. National Park Service.

Appointed to his post in 2004, Baker holds a doctoral degree in Public Service and previously served as Superintendent of the Little Bighorn Memorial site as well. He received two NPS awards for adding an Indian Memorial to the Little Bighorn site, and he has also added the Sioux Heritage Village tipis to the Mount Rushmore site as well. Gerard Baker represents modern efforts toward a more inclusive understanding of Mount Rushmore, though perhaps he would simply claim he was just doing his job.