After a series of historic picks for leading cabinet positions, president-elect Joe Biden on Thursday selected Congresswoman Deb Haaland to be Interior Secretary. If confirmed, Haaland will be the first Native American to serve in the position, leading a department that “oversees the federal government’s relationship with 567 federally recognized tribes and 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives,” according to Axios. Her nomination, a source told the Washington Post, reflects “Biden’s determination to confront long-running injustices toward indigenous people in America, and to finally and fully uphold our country’s trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations.”
The pick is a victory for progressive Democrats, activists and tribal leaders who for weeks had been advocating for Haaland. Over 100 tribal leaders signed an open letter to Biden since winning the 2020 election, urging him to consider Haaland for a position in his cabinet. Speaking to Huffpost in November about whether she’d be interested in such a role, Haaland said, “I think it’s a time in our world―not just in our country, but our entire world―to listen to Indigenous people when it comes to climate change, when it comes to our environment.”
“The Department of the Interior has a long history of inflicting pain on Native communities and infringing on tribal sovereignty,” Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of Illuminative, said in statement. “For the first time, the Department will be led by a Native person who can begin the work of reconciliation and protecting the land that Native peoples have fought to safeguard.” With Haaland leading Interior, she added, “we know that the priorities and needs of both Native communities and all Americans will be heard.”
According to Axios, it was the historic nature of her appointment that attracted the support of key figures, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was noted as being the last “hurdle” for Haaland’s nomination. In a statement offering support Wednesday, Pelosi called the Congresswoman “one of the most respected and one of the best members of Congress I have served with.” Fears that Haaland’s presence would narrow Pelosi’s House majority in the coming term were eased by supporters who reportedly assured her and her team that the appointment could be done in a way that protected her majority and speakership.
In 2018, Haaland, alongside Congresswoman Sharice Davids, became the first Native American women to serve in Congress. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and has been representing New Mexico’s 1st congressional district since 2019, a region known for its high levels of oil and gas production. Her appointment will play a large role in the execution of Biden’s ambitious energy plan, which includes “banning new oil and natural gas drilling permits on federal lands” and “greater use of those areas for renewable power development,” according to Axios. One of the major challenges that Haaland and the incoming administration will face is drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife, as Donald Trump‘s administration plans to sell drilling rights on the way out the door.
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