In a Native Bidaské interview, Schimmel discusses subsistence fishing, serving his community and bringing Alaska Native experiences to a national audience.
Sam Schimmel’s path to becoming an attorney began long before law school. Growing up between rural Alaska communities, he learned the importance of subsistence fishing, hunting, sharing resources and caring for his people.
Now, the Alaska Native attorney is bringing those experiences to a national audience through American Creed: Citizen Power, a new PBS documentary series exploring how young leaders work to strengthen their communities and put American ideals into practice.
Schimmel, a member of Alaska’s Kenaitze Tribe, joined Native News Online’s Native Bidaské host Levi Rickert to discuss his career, the importance of tribal sovereignty and why he chose to bring his legal skills back to Alaska.
The series begins streaming Tuesday, Oct. 13, on PBS platforms. Schimmel’s story is featured in the episode “Kenai to Kentucky,” which follows him and Jonathan Blair, a young community leader from Eastern Kentucky, as they work to honor their communities’ distinct traditions while helping shape their futures.
Watch American Creed: Citizen Power on PBS.
Although Schimmel pursued higher education in California and attended law school in Washington, D.C., he credits his upbringing in Alaska with teaching him the values that guide his work.
“My real education didn’t happen in a formal western classroom. It happened out in the woods,” Schimmel told Rickert.
He recalled learning at fish camp and moose camp how to work hard, share with others and provide for his community. Those lessons helped shape his understanding of what it means to be an Alaska Native person and a community member.
After spending years working with tribes and Native communities, Schimmel pursued a legal career to help address the challenges facing Alaska Native people. His work includes advising tribes and Alaska Native corporations on government programs, fisheries, education and economic matters.
He said he saw a need for Alaska Native attorneys who understand their communities’ ways of life and can navigate the legal and governmental systems that affect them.
For Schimmel, professional success is about more than financial opportunity.
“I wanted to make sure that I was giving back to the people who made me who I am,” he said.
A central theme of Schimmel’s work is protecting subsistence fishing, which supports Alaska Native families and communities while sustaining cultural traditions across generations.
During the interview, Schimmel described the differences between small-scale fishing that provides food for families and communities and industrial fishing operations that he said threaten marine resources.
He warned that the depletion of fish populations puts future generations at risk of losing access to resources essential to their way of life.
Schimmel also discussed the challenges smaller tribal communities face when they lack the financial and institutional resources available to other governments and organizations.
As an attorney, he sees an obligation to help address those imbalances and ensure Native communities have the resources and representation needed to make decisions about their futures.
He explained that tribal self-determination and many Indigenous values, including freedom and community responsibility, can align with the ideals often associated with American citizenship.
“Our ancestors fought to make sure that we would be left alone to be able to decide how we should live, to be able to dictate our own future,” Schimmel said.
Schimmel’s appearance in American Creed: Citizen Power offers viewers an opportunity to learn about Alaska Native experiences through the perspective of someone working directly with his community.
The series, framed by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and historian David M. Kennedy, brings together young leaders from different backgrounds to examine freedom, fairness, civic responsibility and how individuals can influence the institutions around them.
In his conversation with Rickert, Schimmel offered advice to young people interested in protecting their cultures and pursuing careers in law, government or public service.
He encouraged them to begin working toward their goals, develop skills that benefit their communities and support others who are trying to make a difference.
“Be nice to each other, take care of each other,” he said. “Be forgiving, and work really, really, really hard at gaining skills that’ll benefit our community.”
Schimmel’s story highlights how cultural knowledge, professional skills and a commitment to community can work together to protect Indigenous ways of life and help shape the future.
Viewers can watch American Creed: Citizen Power through PBS and the PBS app. The series’ “Kenai to Kentucky” episode features Schimmel alongside Jonathan Blair, whose work focuses on expanding educational opportunities in Eastern Kentucky.
Watch the full episode of Native Bidaské with Sam Schimmel.
