First Native interior secretary leaves legacy after 4 years of impact: 'My authentic self'
Source: USA Today
Published 4:05 p.m. ET Dec. 20, 2024
Deb Haaland had just begun her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2021, elected from her native New Mexico. She was one of the first Indigenous women to be elected to Congress, but President Joe Biden had another "first" in mind.
He nominated her as the first Native American cabinet official and the first Native person to serve as Secretary of the Interior. Haaland said it was "a really scary thing" when she first stepped onto the road to public service. "It was like stepping into an area that you haven't gone before," she said. "And the job was no different. I had never been a Secretary of the Interior before."
She overcame that anxiety and set out to make history. Among her accomplishments managing the U.S. government's largest agency was a significant step for Indigenous communities. "We gave tribes a true seat at the table."
Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, will depart the Interior Department at the end of Biden's term on Jan. 20. She leaves behind new and enhanced partnership agreements, more Indian Country homes with electricity for the first time and tribes playing a more active role in directing management of the Colorado River.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/20/interior-secretary-deb-haaland-personal-legacy/77109970007/
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