W. Richard West, Jr. is the Founding Director and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and President and CEO Emeritus, Ambassador, Native Community, of the Autry Museum of the American West. He is a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma and a member of the Southern Cheyenne Society of Peace Chiefs. West served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Alliance of Museums (1998 – 2000) and Vice President of the International Council of Museums (2007 – 2010).