Floyd “Buck” Sampson

Floyd “Buck” Sampson, Northern Paiute, was born and raised in Reno, NV. He attended Stewart Indian School from 1968 to 1971. While at Stewart, Buck was on the boxing team and played baseball. His favorite subject was American Indian history, because he “liked to argue with the teacher that the history textbooks were wrong.” He said he was amazed by how many tribes were represented and it made “him feel proud to be an Indian.” His grandfather Dewey Sampson and Dewey’s older brother Harry attended Stewart as well as other family members. Upon graduation Buck received three scholarships (boxing, English and American Indian history) to the University of Nevada, Reno. Buck continued boxing after Stewart and was a youth boxing coach for two decades. After retiring from the City of Reno, Buck helped in the preservation of the Stewart Indian School as Chairman of Nevada Indian Commission’s Stewart Advisory Committee. Buck was always willing to share his Stewart story with others and attended many Stewart related events including numerous Stewart Father’s Day Powwows. Buck will be deeply missed by many, but his story will continue to live on in the Stewart Indian School & Museum’s archives and permanent exhibit.