Samuel N. Penney

Samuel N. Penney (Nez Perce)
Senior Strategist
Blue Stone Strategy Group

Samuel N. Penney is former chairman and member of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee (NPTEC).  Penney was first elected to the NPTEC in May 1989 and served through May 2010. Penney served thirteen years as chairman of NPTEC and four years as vice-chairman.  He has also served as chairman of the Law and Order/Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee and held numerous assignments during his years on NPTEC.

Penney has served on the Native American Advisory Boards to the Presidents of Washington State University, University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College. He also served on the Gonzaga Law School Native American Advisory Board and attended the Annual Tribal Leadership Summit hosted by the University of Washington.    He is currently a policy board member and president of the Portland State University, Hatfield School of Government Tribal Leadership Forum.  Penney has been guest speaker at many educational institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Lewis-Clark State College and the University of Idaho.

Penney has also served on the executive boards of the Intertribal Monitoring Association on Indian Trust Funds, Northwest Region delegate to the National Indian Gaming Association Board of Directors, National Tribal Environmental Council Executive Committee and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Executive Board of Directors.

In 1999 the Idaho Statesman Newspaper featured Penney in an article entitled “Idahoans Changing Idaho – 10 Who Make A Difference.”  The Idaho Statesman took a look at people who are working to change Idaho today, searching for those who reflect the best of who we are and what we believe.  Penney was selected because he sought to protect the rights of the state’s Indian residents and the areas natural resources.

On May 16, 2003, Penney received the President’s Medallion from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.  He was selected for his dedication to promoting educational opportunities for Native American youth and the understanding of the importance of higher education for everyone, both Indian and non-Indian.  Also on May 17, 2003, the University of Idaho in recognition of a lifetime of contributions to the State of Idaho conferred upon him an honorary doctorate degree of Doctor of Administrative Science.

Penney has extensive knowledge and experience about the federal and state legislative processes.  The Nez Perce Tribe faces a broad range of issues at the federal government level.  Some of the issues Penney has worked on at the federal level are:  health, education, housing, elders, veterans, gaming, law enforcement, environmental protection, fish and wildlife, land-into-trust, land consolidation, nuclear waste, taxation, transportation, tribal sovereignty, tribal consultation and federal trust responsibility.

Penney has provided testimony before Congress and worked with members of Congress in advocating on behalf of the Nez Perce Tribe regarding federal authorizations/appropriations and the protection of Nez Perce treaty rights.

Penney has also worked and advocated for the Nez Perce Tribe on issues at the state level.  This work includes providing testimony before the Idaho State Legislature, serving as a representative on the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs, meetings with the Governor of Idaho as well as working with the states of Oregon, Washington and Montana on a government-to-government basis.  The issues covered by this work include:  helped negotiate the 1995 Class III Gaming Compact, removal of the Idaho Lottery from the Nez Perce Reservation in 1994 because of a lack of a compact for the state to operate the lottery within the reservation, helped negotiate fuels tax agreement, worked on preservation of tribal tobacco sales/tax exemptions, worked on statewide “Indian Gaming and Self Reliance Act” initiative to define and secure tribal gaming in Idaho in November of 2002, helped negotiate 2008 Lottery Compact for the return of Idaho Lottery to the Nez Perce Reservation.

Penney is 56 years old and a lifelong resident of Kamiah, Idaho, where he resides with his wife Loretta.  Sam and Loretta have three children, Ira, James and Samantha.