Deb Haaland Could Become The First Native American To Become US Interior Secretary

Media reports suggest that President-elect Joe Biden could nominate congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as the interior secretary, making her the first Native American to hold the post. New Mexico Representative Haaland's appointment, if it comes through, as a cabinet secretary will be a historic event as she will not only lead the federal department but also play a key role in Native American affairs and the climate policy.

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"It would be an honour to move the Biden-Harris climate agenda forward, help repair the government to government relationship with Tribes that the Trump Administration has ruined, and serve as the first Native American cabinet secretary in our nation's history," Haaland said in a statement quoted in the New York Times. As per reports, Haaland is a single mother who overcame alcoholism and poverty to become one of the United States' first Native American Congresswomen.

60-year-old Haaland, who belongs to New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo tribe, had once founded a start-up company that made salsa dip. Before becoming a Congresswoman, she struggled to make ends meet and raise her young daughter, all the while studying at a law school.

Haaland made history as one of the first two Native American women ever elected to Congress in 2018, aside of Sharice Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation from Kansas.

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Haaland has served in the House Natural Resources Committee for two years. After the news of her nomination started doing rounds, Haaland took to Twitter and said that she was honoured and ready to serve, and that “growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land."

A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior.

Growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land.

I am honored and ready to serve.

— Deb Haaland (@DebHaalandNM) December 18, 2020

Haaland told Business Insider that one of her top priorities as Interior Secretary would be to improve the tribal consultation process and other issues that directly impact them.

Feature Image Credit: NDTV

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