§80q–3 Board of Trustees of National Museum of the American Indian

Summary

A Board of Trustees will run the National Museum of the American Indian and must handle its budgets, operations, upkeep, and collections. The Board must recommend the museum’s annual operating budget to the Board of Regents, advise the Regents on running and preserving the museum, write its own bylaws, pick a chair and other officers, and report each year about the museum’s acquisitions, sales, loans, and displays of Native American objects. Under the Regents’ general policies, the Board alone can lend, trade, sell, buy, accept, or borrow items for the collection and must use sale proceeds to add to the collection or the museum’s endowment. The Board also sets rules for how the collections are used, oversees restoration and preservation, raises funds and decides how to spend them, and approves spending from the endowment. At first, the Board will have 25 members: the Secretary of the Smithsonian, one Assistant Secretary chosen by the Regents, 8 people appointed by the Regents, and 15 people appointed by the Regents from nominees of the Heye Museum trustees. At least 7 of the 23 appointed members must be Indians. The Assistant Secretary serves at the Regents’ pleasure; the other appointees serve 3-year terms starting when Heye assets transfer. Vacancies are filled only for the rest of the term. After those initial terms end, the Board will have the Secretary, a senior Smithsonian official appointed by the Regents, and 23 people appointed by the Regents from nominees of the Board of Trustees, with at least 12 of those 23 being Indians. Most members serve 3-year terms, but the first group of appointees will be staggered so some serve 1 or 2 years. A majority of members then in office is needed for a quorum. Board members may receive per diem and travel pay while doing their duties.