Haaland, a member of Pueblo of Laguna, will become the first Native American Cabinet secretary if confirmed. The New Mexico Democrat is also a favorite of the young, diverse progressive activists who vigorously lobbied both the Biden team and the House Democratic leadership – retaining a narrow majority after the November election – to select her for more famous names. with closer ties to the Democratic Party establishment.
Haaland was reelected to her second term in November as the representative of New Mexico’s first congressional district. And while she’s never made headlines like members of her allies in “The Squad,” Haaland’s fierce advocacy of climate justice and indigenous rights has made her a champion of the new left.
The report of her selection – rumored to have been in limbo for the past week – sparked celebrations in a circle of committed progressives who kept close contact with Biden’s team, even as some of their ideological allies warned against it.
“We see our mothers, our aunts, and ourselves in Deb – and now we as a people place our greatest hopes in her leadership,” said Julian Brave NoiseCat, vice president of Policy for Data for Progress, one of Haaland’s top lawyers. “After four years of fossil fuel executives and lobbyists opening up indigenous lands and sacred sites to the industry, the next Secretary of the Interior will be a Laguna Pueblo woman who went to Standing Rock in 2016 and cooked for the people.”
Before going to Congress in 2018, Haaland, a single mother, joined the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline project, which was mapped to pass 1,200 miles from North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline was routed under a reservoir near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which led to legal challenges and ultimately mass demonstrations and an encampment that brought together indigenous and environmental activists from across the country.
“I felt we had really hit an environmental movement that was deep and meaningful,” Haaland told the publication. “It just seemed so amazing that so many tribes came together because tribes came from all over to stand with the water protectors. It was significant that so many of us came together to protect water, our natural resources.”
Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez celebrated the choice and commended the incoming government for keeping a promise.
“It is truly a historic and unprecedented day for all indigenous peoples as Congressman Deb Haaland has been selected to lead one of the largest federal agencies, overseeing the (Bureau of Indian Affairs) and (Bureau of Indian Education) , at the highest level of the federal government, “he said.” I congratulate her and also thank the Biden-Harris team for making a statement and keeping their word for placing Indians in high cabinet positions.
Haaland supported Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in the 2020 Democratic primaries, and during the Biden transition team’s deliberations over cabinet selection, Warren expressed support for the Congressman directly to Biden, according to a source familiar with the urge to Haaland’s nomination.
Warren praised reports of Biden’s decision on Thursday.
“Woo-hoo! Deb is an excellent choice. She will be a great Secretary of the Interior – protect public land and natural resources, fight climate change and make history,” Warren tweeted.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York also applauded the choice, describing it as a turning point for an increasingly diverse progressive movement.
“This is a big deal. Historic nomination. A visionary Indigenous woman in charge of federal lands. Undeniably progressive. Green New Deal champion. Superbly experienced,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez. “@RepDebHaal and sister, you are going to do such a good job. I am so proud of you and the movement.”
Paving the way for Biden to appeal to Haaland, whose father was a Marine who received the Silver Star Medal for heroic deeds in Vietnam and whose mother served in the Navy, was a tough job for her supporters. With the House Democratic majority downsized, many on the left believed she needed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s blessing before Biden moved.
It came Wednesday.
“Congressman Haaland knows the area, and if she is the president-elect’s choice for Secretary of the Interior, he will have made an excellent choice,” the California Democrat said in a statement. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, joined her to support Haaland.
During Haaland’s brief time in Congress, she won the support of members of both parties, including GOP Rep. Alaska’s Don Young, who praised her work as vice chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and described her as a “consensus builder.” “
Haaland was also chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. In November, 50 House Democrats – across ideological boundaries – signed a letter praising her for the cabinet job.
The Sunrise movement, a leading climate activist group, worked to oust another prominent candidate for the job, Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, whose father once headed the department.
Along with Justice Democrats, NDN Collective, and Data for Progress, Sunrise praised Udall for his work, but argued it was time for new faces.
“It would not be right for two Udalls to lead the Ministry of the Interior, the agency charged with managing the nation’s public lands, natural resources, and trust responsibilities to tribes, ahead of a single Indian,” the groups wrote. the Democratic Party neither stands for nor what you or your father have stood for in your tireless advocacy for strong indigenous representation at all levels of government. ‘
Udall congratulated Haaland in a statement on Thursday, praising her “lived experience” and supporting her to reverse the policy of the past four years.
“It will undo the damage done to the Trump administration, restore the department’s workforce and expertise, honor our commitments to indigenous communities and take the bold steps needed to address the accelerating climate and wildlife crises,” said Udall.
On Thursday, Sunrise’s executive director and co-founder, Varshini Prakash, celebrated the choice.
“Thank you Joe Biden for listening to the unprecedented wave of support that rallied behind Deb Haaland,” she said, “there is no one better to run the Home Office.”