Scott Davis steps down as Assistant Secretary of Interior

WASHINGTON – Scott Davis, a Standing Rock Sioux tribal citizen, announced his resignation from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Friday, April 3, after eight months as the agency’s Deputy Assistant Secretary. Davis made the announcement on his LinkedIn account, where he said his tenure focused on preparing the Office of Indian Affairs for the incoming Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, now Billy Kirkland, and on engaging with Tribal Nations.

Several organizations issued statements thanking Davis for his service at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Davis said he plans to return to the private sector.

“I wanted to personally let you know that it was an honor and a privilege to work with the thousands of Interior staff,” Davis wrote on Friday, April 3. “I highly valued your work ethic and commitment to Tribes and Tribal citizens. During my eight month tenure as acting Assistant Secretary, my staff and I met with over 400 Tribal Nations. These face to face meetings occurred in D.C. and on their Tribal homelands. It was an honor and privilege to meet in conducting government to government operations in planning and executing Tribal Nation goals and objectives.”

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is currently led by Assistant Secretary Billy Kirkland, a Navajo Nation citizen. Davis said Indian Country is in “good hands” with Kirkland at the helm of Interior’s Indian Affairs. Kirkland was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 7, 2025, to serve as the 15th Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

The National Congress of American Indians issued a statement Friday thanking Davis for his service, noting, “Since March 2025, he has served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs and later as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. We are grateful for his service to Indian Country, both during his time at the DOI and in the years prior, in the private sector. As he departs this role, we wish him continued success in his future efforts to advance the interests of Indian Country.”

In his announcement, Davis said his service at Interior was always intended to be temporary and mutually agreed upon with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Both Davis and Burgum are from North Dakota, where Davis served as Executive Director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission from 2009 to 2021, working closely with three governors, including Burgum.

The Intertribal Buffalo Council, a Rapid City–based Indigenous led nonprofit focused on the repatriation of buffalo to Tribal Nations, also issued a statement. “Scott has been a strong and steady advocate for Tribal Nations and for the return of buffalo to our homelands. He understands that buffalo are more than animals — they are relatives — and he supported Tribal led efforts in a way that made a real and lasting difference.”

Several weeks earlier, on Tuesday, March 17, Davis delivered a keynote address at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s annual conference in Bismarck, where he spoke at length about his father, Dr. Jim Davis. “He is the biggest reason in my life here today, for many reasons,” Davis said. Dr. Davis passed away in January 2025 after a long career in higher education throughout Indian Country, including serving as a board member for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.

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