President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Representative Deb Haaland, a first-term congressperson from New Mexico, to be his secretary of the interior. If confirmed by the Senate, Haaland will be the first Native American to run the Department of the Interior and the first to serve on a presidential cabinet. She’ll oversee agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service, in addition to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In a statement, the National Wildlife Federation says that choosing Haaland for the position is“aclear sign the new administration is deeply committed to tackling America’s wildlife and climate crises and authentically engaging with Native American Tribes and Indigenous communities.” Biden says he has commited to “a cabinet that looks like America.”
Haaland, 60, is . Her mother, a Native American, served in the U.S.Navy. Her father, a Norwegian American, was a Marineand received a Silver Star for courageous service in the Vietnam War. Haaland is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo. Shedescribes herself as a 35th generation New Mexican.
In 1994, Haalandgraduatedfrom the University of New Mexico at the age of 34, then gave birth to her daughter just four days later. A single mother, she made ends meet by starting her own salsa company and says thatat timesshe relied on food stampsandthe generosity of friends for housing. In 2006, she earned a Juris Doctor degreefrom the University of New Mexico School of Lawand went on to serve as tribal administrator for the San Felipe Pueblo.
Haaland began her political career as a volunteer, working to increase voter participation in Native American communities. She volunteeredfor the Obama campaign in 2012, then unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2014. In 2015, she became chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party.
In 2016, Haaland on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Thereshe cooked green chili and tortillas fromthe back of her car to feed fellow protestors. “There shouldn’t be penalties for protests, it’s our constitutional right,” she said at the time.
Haaland was elected to represent New Mexico’s First District, which encompasses Albuquerque and itssurrounding areas,in 2018. She and Sharice Davids of Kansas were both elected that year, making them the first Native American women in Congress.Haaland serves asvice chair of the House Natural Resources Committeeand is alsochair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.
“Congresswoman Haaland knows the territory,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , supporting Haaland’s nomination.
Haaland offers a stark contrast to the current secretary of the interior, David Bernhardt. Not only has President-elect Biden pledged to halt all new oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters, but Haaland’s support for First Amendmentrights represents a welcome change from a DOI that dispatched its law-enforcement units to anti-racism demonstrators in Washington,D.C., this summer. Haaland herself also takes advantage of outdoor recreation; she completed the Marine Corps Marathon .
But it’s the changeshepromises to bring to Native American affairs that holds the most promise. President Trump’s time in office, aided by Secretaries Ryan Zinke and Bernhardt, involved ahistoric assault on Native American rights and heritage. In addition to forcing through the Dakota Access Pipeline, Trump’s administration struck protections from sacred tribal sites in Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, opened the Alaska National Wildlife Refugeto oil drilling (threatening food sources for the Gwich’in people), and reorganized the DOI in ways Haaland argues are . The administration’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic has also disproportionately impacted Indigenouscommunities.
Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico,said in an emailstatement thatHaaland’s nomination will help him“sleep better at night.” He also said: “I am confident Congresswoman Haaland will use the best science to restore our landscapes, open up new outdoor recreation opportunities for everyone, put our public lands to work in confronting the climate crisis, and help Indian Country recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. I am eager to support her confirmation so she can get to work protecting our natural heritage for future generations.”