U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo member in New Mexico, has already broken barriers. Haaland, alongside Rep. Sharice Davids, a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation in Kansas, made history as the first Native women elected to Congress in 2018. Recently, Haaland won her reelection to the House. Speaking of New Mexico’s election results, you might remember that voters actually just elected all women of color to the House for the first time in the state's history. Pretty exciting stuff. Something else that’s pretty exciting? According to The Hill, the transition team for President-elect Joe Biden is vetting Haaland for the interior secretary position. If Biden appoints her, she would be the first Native Cabinet secretary, and that could have a seriously positive impact on Native life today.
First, let’s talk about what the Interior Department actually does, as well as why Haaland—and other Native leaders—could be an especially meaningful choice.
First, the Interior Department oversees environmental issues both on land and at sea, including coastal drilling and threatened and endangered species preservation, as well as extractions of oil and gas on federal land. The Interior Department also handles parks and recreation, the national monuments, as well as offshore territories. The department also manages both the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. So, in the big picture, a progressive appointment could have long-term effects on both climate change and Indigenous-centered policies (like actually getting enough funding to thrive and not having sacred land destroyed for oil, among other issues).
In an interview with Vox about the potential appointment, Haaland told the outlet, “It would be symbolic, and it would be profound, especially when we think about how the federal government essentially threw out their federal Indian policies throughout the centuries and tried to exterminate Native Americans across the country.”
Notably, Haaland’s name isn’t coming out of nowhere. In fact, a number of tribal leaders have enthusiastically backed her as a potential pick. For example, this excellent piece by the chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, Leonard Forsman, and the president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe, Shannon Holsey, spells out precisely why it’s long past time for the Department of the Interior to be led by a Native secretary—and named Haaland as a prime example of a candidate with the right understanding for the hugely important role.
The Interior Department has an enormous effect on tribal land and Indigenous life in this nation. Having a Native Cabinet secretary would be an excellent step forward, but not the end of the line—we need more people of color leading all federal roles, and that absolutely includes Native leaders.
To learn more about Haaland, check out this awesome Q&A over at Prism, as well as our Making Progress video interview below.