"There's entirely not enough renewable energy projects and too many extractive industry projects on our public lands," she said. While running for lieutenant governor, Haaland received an email from a college student who was inspired by seeing a Native American woman aiming for high office. While the political pioneers net worth have been assessed in the scope of $100,000 to $1 million, she has not unequivocally uncovered her fortune. In addition to Haaland, Biden's transition is reportedly looking into a pair of other New Mexico politicians, Sen. Martin Heinrich or retiring Sen. Tom Udall, for the Interior post. Lots of names are floating around for Joe Biden's Interior secretary, but in recent weeks, one has risen above the din. After Haaland ran for lieutenant governor on an unsuccessful ticket in 2014, she turned her attention to running for the job of the New Mexico Democratic Party chairwoman. Both are part of the Department of the Interior. With Haaland's new role asInterior secretary, many Native American leaders saidshe will face great expectations tempered by the historical reality. On top of all this she somehow finds time to do things like cook dinner and bake cakes and gives the pups a trim. "She brought communities into the fold that really hadn't felt like they were a part of the party before.". This question is especially daunting when we consider that 65% of those we have lost are our elders, wisdom keepersand culture bearers. For the 2018 cycle, she hired Forrester to manage her campaign and set about winning a competitive primary. She said her name was Deb Haaland, Warren recalled. Months ago, just before the start of a hearingof the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, a Democrat from Nevada and first vice-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was talking with Haaland, who chairs the panel, about the portraits of the past chairman that lined the walls. Haaland was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 . Fast forward since thenand the number of people who have heard of Haaland has grown exponentially. We were left vulnerable to COVID-19 by the extractive legacy that precipitated overcrowding by replacing our homes with strip mines, impaired our aquifers and reduced our water access, and imposed asthma,cancerand other underlying conditions upon us. Ad Feedback Video Ad. Some more Democratic math might work against Haaland. Much like Stacey Abrams' groundbreaking work in Georgia for the Democrats, Haaland is credited with helping members of her party regainNew Mexico's House of Representatives and secretary of state posts in 2016. This could be it. The Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund has been on the front lines in the battle against COVID and our wounds cut deep. Still, that hasn't stopped Native American leaders and activists from publishing a wave ofletters,op-eds, andpetitionsfor Biden to choose Haaland and make history. Politicians who have worked with her since her early days in New Mexico politics attributed Haaland's "meteoric" rise to her ability to compromise while still sticking to her beliefs, and centering tribal communities and the environment at the heart of her politics. Dozens of members of Congress have vocally taken up the cause. They spoke Friday at a school in the Gila Indian River Community just south of Phoenix before a large audience that included Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. She thenhandily beat Republican counterpartJanice Arnold-Jonesfor the congressional seat in doing so becoming only the second Native American woman in Congress after Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids, who hails from Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Nation. Overseeing Interior would place her in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education, the agencies most involved in Native American issues and the ones that are most at loggerheads with tribes. Perhaps most significantly, Bidenhas pledged to ban new drilling on public landsin a major reversal fromTrump's policy of expansion. Rep. Deb Haaland, who made history as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress in 2018, could soon shatter yet another glass ceiling. PARAJE, N.M. Six members of the Laguna Pueblo community gathered last week in the cool, fragrant kitchen of an adobe house, discussing their hopes for "Sister Deb" Deb Haaland, a Laguna. For the first time in six years, leaders of federally recognized tribes from across the country gathered in Washington to meet with Biden administration officials in a gathering one Oklahoma leader called extremely powerful.. Two years later, Democratsreclaimed both chambers of the state legislaturein Santa Fe. I know that this process will be painful. Lujan Grisham remains impressed by the way Haaland took the states Democratic party and rebuilt it and cemented a platform for success that continues to this day.. If confirmed, the congresswoman from New Mexico would be the first Native American person to head the department. A combination of a duty to serve and a dedication to her people quickly came to define Haaland's life. It reflects an extensive and first-ever inventory of federally operated schools, including profiles and maps. Her nomination will now move to the full Senate. She is an American brought into the world in Arizona, moreover, she is a Local American according to her identity. John de Graaf says there was a time when a list of Arizona political icons would have included Barry Goldwater, John McCain and at least one other Stewart Udall. As an Albuquerque resident, she also understands the challenges faced by a vibrant and expanding metropolis in an arid region. Several names are floating around for Joe Biden's possible nominee for Interior secretary, but in recent weeks Rep. Deb Haaland's name has risen above the din. "I would like to explore the idea of making our public lands more accessible to people and making them cleaner so that we are not polluting as much.". "I was so excited to eat, Sanchez recalled. "Shes in it to see real results.. "The history of federal Indian policy has been a history of people who had no idea what was best for us, said Warren, who works on Native education issues for the non-profit Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation in Espaola, New Mexico. Rep. Deb Haaland would be the country's first Native American Cabinet secretary. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. "Deb will have to deal with tribes who still need to be convinced that taking the billions of dollars from those companies for the rights to their land rights isnt worth it, said O.J. Day saidNative activists across the nation will be energized like never before byHaaland's position asInterior secretary. At one particularly dire juncture, she and Somh were sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate when financial concerns led them to move out and find shelter with friends. Deb is likewise a Catholic by religion while she additionally sticks to some customary Local American convictions. [27] She served as the chair of Democratic Party of New Mexico Native American Caucus from 2012 to 2013. When asked whether she supported Biden's proposed drilling ban, Haaland said she'd emphasize the need to invest in renewable energy "because I think that industry can create jobs" while at the same time helping to combat climate change. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240. Vice President Kamala Harris and two cabinet secretaries on Thursday celebrated the start of construction of a new high-capacity power transmission line between Arizona and California, which they hope will lead to future solar energy farms in the desert outside Phoenix. Native American hopes already are soaring. Haaland, a self-described "progressive," and a. It also goes without saying that the Native American community is not a monolith; there are 574 nationally recognized Indian Nations, all of which have their unique cultures, needs, and relationships with the federal government. In 2019, the up-and-coming performer/writer/activist became a satellite member of the Tricklock Company. In June 2021, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, a comprehensive effort to recognize the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding school policies with the goal of addressing their intergenerational impact and to shed light on the traumas of the past. These losses have also disproportionately hit rural communities abutting Indian country. We Stand United, a progressive grassroots movement co-founded by actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, cut an online ad featuring tribal leaders who pressed Biden to consider the unprecedented achievement of elevating a Native American woman to the Cabinet. The read more Report Video Issue 0 seconds of 1. ButPueblo Indians have a history of resistance including theinfamous Pueblo Revolt in 1680 that temporarily chased the Spanish from New Mexico that has kept them on ancestral lands for the past 7,000 years. Haaland's passion for the state and its deep Native history was always on display. "I'm not out campaigning for this position," Haaland told Insider on Friday. Every environmentalist would love this job, but it comes with an incredible number of challenges," said Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Clubs land protection program. She doesnt have a spouse however has a little girl that she raised while being a single parent. Although Haaland is proud of her father's Norwegian heritage The Norwegian Americantrumpeted her 2018 Congressional win with the headline "Norwegian American Deb Haaland makes history" her mother's Pueblo Indian roots are foundational to her identity and werereflected in the elaborate turquoise, black and red outfitHaaland wore for her swearing-in ceremony. But only by acknowledging the past can we work toward a future that were all proud to embrace. Secretary Deb Haaland. Last fall, Haaland's campaign efforts helped her handily win again, helped by the blue tide that surged in reaction to the presidency of Donald Trump. Her past struggles with poverty, alcoholism and two drunk-driving charges decades before she ran for Congress have shaped her perspective as an elected official. He also bore witness to her kindness toward strangers, something often observed by the congresswoman's friends. Arizona Capitol Times provides 24/7 business news coverage and events honoring top business professionals. He has just remembered different minority pioneers for his bureau. The survival of my people in the face of COVID-19, and our successful rebuilding post-COVID, depends upon it. The party's majority in the House has shrunk after unexpected Republican gains in the November elections. This will require someone who can successfully work across the aisle, and Ms. Haaland has a proven track record of this. Truth be told, she is one of the initial two Local American ladies chose into the House. What does Haaland's nomination mean for the future of the Department of the Interior? Come January it will also be Haaland's job to uphold the government's legally binding obligations to the tribes . Haaland's task will be a giant balancing act, often weighing her own passion for environmental issues with the financial realities of many stakeholders including some Native American tribeswhose incomes weigh heavily on energy exploration. I always repeat this, we need more than a seat at the table, we need to create the menu, she said. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Hermother, Mary Toya, was in the Navy and worked as a federal employee in Indian education, while her father, John David, also known as J.D. This report lays the groundwork for the continued work of the Interior Department to address the intergenerational trauma created by historical federal Indian boarding school policies. They have representation among both the Democratic and Republican parties. Indian countrylacks basic infrastructure, AZ International Auto Show & New Car Buyer's Guide 2020 Model Year, Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Haaland was born in Arizona 60 years ago, but her military family relocated multiple times before eventually landing in Albuquerque. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The investigation found that from 1819 to 1969, the federal Indian boarding school system consisted of 408 federal schools across 37 states or then territories, including 21 schools in Alaska and 7 schools in Hawaii. Haaland often says she is a 35th generation New Mexican. "I think she helped make it a more inclusive environment. "You can cry identity politics, but try not being represented for over 200 years and all the sudden have somebody who looks like you," Haaland told the Washington Postafter her election while reflecting on the gravity of her win. Onecross-state trip started at 4 a.m., and by the time the pair stopped at a filling station in the town of Truth or Consequences, they were famished. Thats one of the things that sticks with me aboutmy interactions with her," he said, noting the importance of challenging symbols when they offend others. In a few Instagram posts last fall under the name CoffeeQueer, daughter Somh shared photos of her mother washing the family dogs ahead of Election Day. She is one of us, who deeply understands our history and struggles. [11] She ran for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2014. The Senate on Monday confirmed Ms Haaland as Interior Secretary by a vote of 51 to 40, making her the first Native cabinet secretary in US history. Last spring, as the novel coronavirus began to ravage healthcare-challenged Native American communities, Haaland pushed to improve broadband service on reservations, eliminate some bureaucratic red tape for access to federal aid and address concerns about the lack of running water on some reservations. A military brat and one of five children, Haaland attended 13 public schools around the country before settling in New Mexico. Many Native Americans were marched at gunpoint by federal troops off their land and onto reservations that held no historical meaning. With her lived experience, Ms. Haaland is uniquely positioned to ensure that the interests of Indigenous America, and all of rural America, is at the fore of thinking in the beltway. On May 11, 2022, Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary Newland released Volume 1 of the investigative report. The confirmation of U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland as secretary of interior by the Senate on Feb. 23 will be a tremendous win for . "But look, if that's the decision that President-elect Joe Biden makes then of course I would always be honored to serve my state, my people, my country.". 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Ethel Billie Branch is interim executive director of theNavajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund. She genuinely cares so much and she would do absolutely anything for her community.. "She was the underdog and nobody thought she would win, raise the money," he told Insider. She is likewise the previous seat of the New Mexico Leftist faction and an individual from the Laguna Pueblo clan. Polls consistently showed her down, Forrester said. As a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe in New Mexico, she would be the first Native American to hold the post. "This moment in history belongs to Deb Haaland, and nobody else. She aggressively canvassed the state's tribal communities for Barack Obama in 2012, knocking on doors and encouraging them to register and vote. Early in Tom Perez's tenure as DNC chair, Haaland pushed him to bring more Native Americans into the party so they would have enough members to form a caucus, Rion Ramirez, now the Native American caucus chair told Insider. In 2010, she joined the board of directors for the Laguna Development Corporation, which oversees casinos and gaming on the reservation. I think she made it more effective, to be honest," Thiele added. "I think that just causes a lot of emotion for people.". She also worked to canvass Native American voters throughout the state. The Interior Department manages half a billion acres of land across the country and parts of its waters.