[On Dec. 17, President-elect Joe Biden announced Rep. Deb Haaland
(D-NM) as his choice for Secretary of Interior, marking the first time
a Native American will serve in the position, if confirmed by the
Senate.] [[link removed]]

TRIBAL LEADERS RESPOND TO THE IDEA OF AN INDIGENOUS INTERIOR
SECRETARY  
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Graham Lee Brewer and Anna V. Smith
December 14, 2020
High Country News
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_ On Dec. 17, President-elect Joe Biden announced Rep. Deb Haaland
(D-NM) as his choice for Secretary of Interior, marking the first time
a Native American will serve in the position, if confirmed by the
Senate. _

President-elect Joe Biden selected Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) as
Interior secretary. The history-making choice marks the first time a
Native American will lead the department. , Bill Clark Getty Images

 

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make his administration the
most diverse in history, a promise that so far he has fulfilled with
several key appointments. For weeks now, momentum has been building
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a push for the Department of the Interior to be run by an Indigenous
person for the first time in history. Dozens of tribal leaders have
called upon Biden to appoint U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M, an enrolled
tribal member of the Laguna Pueblo. 

Beyond the obvious symbolic importance of having an Indigenous person
lead Interior, a department with a long history of defying the best
interests of tribal nations, the possibilities such a position would
bring for tribal administrations and citizens alike are endless.
Native leaders and advocates are hoping that a Haaland appointment
would result in improved tribal consultation on everything from land
protections to how agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency,
interact with tribal communities. As the country awaits Biden’s
decision, Native communities are bracing for what could prove a
seismic change in the way the federal government treats the interests
of Indian Country.  

“It will be a moment to exhale for tribal leaders,” said Judith Le
Blanc, a citizen of the Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma and director of the
Native Organizers Alliance, a national Native training and organizing
network. An Indigenous person leading Interior, she said, would mean
having someone who understands the legal and inherent rights of
Indigenous peoples to govern their own lands.

“We’re the only peoples in this country who have a collectively
owned land base that has been self-governed since the beginning of
time,” Le Blanc said. “To have someone who understands that
historic fact and therefore the rights and responsibilities to consult
and to discuss before a decision is made that will affect treaty lands
will be amazing. It creates opportunities and possibilities that
tribal leaders will have to step into.” 

The possibility of an Indigenous person leading Interior comes after
an election in which Indigenous voters supported the Biden/Harris
ticket in critical states like Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin. As
IllumiNatives — a nonprofit working to increase Native visibility
— put it in a social media post, “Joe, Native people showed up for
you. Now, show up for them.” If Haaland — or someone like Michael
Connor, a member of Taos Pueblo and former deputy Interior director,
whose name has also been floated as a possible nominee — were to run
the department, it would have a significant impact on Indian Country
policy for the next several years not only for department policies and
representation, but also for on-the-ground realities.

Under the Trump administration, environmental laws were significantly
weakened, protections of places like the Tongass National Forest were
rolled back and large-scale, high-impact projects like the Keystone XL
and Dakota Access pipelines were expedited. Many of those policies
included a rushed — or, in the case of the U.S.-Mexico border wall,
nonexistent — tribal consultation process. While all bureaucracies
have flaws, both Haaland and Connor understand that including tribal
nations in a government-to-government consultation process is
non-negotiable. They could also reverse some of the Trump
administration’s controversial decisions. Whoever is chosen, the
stakes are high.

The Yurok Tribe was one of a host of tribes to sign a letter to
President-elect Joe Biden, urging him to choose Haaland. The tribe has
had a protracted battle with the federal government over keeping
enough water in the Klamath River to support their lifeways and the
river’s salmon population. In 2001, a government decision caused the
largest fish kill in Yurok and U.S. history. Vice Chairman Frankie
Myers says the representation and experience that would come with
Haaland as an Indigenous person and lawmaker would be a welcome
change: “Ensuring that Indigenous voices are at the highest level of
government, specifically when it comes to resources, is critical for
us moving this country in a better, more positive way.”

Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering
Committee, agrees. In November, the Trump administration announced
that it would auction off oil and gas leases
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the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge just two weeks before Biden takes
office. The refuge, which lies within the ancestral lands of the
Gwich’in, supports the sensitive populations of Porcupine caribou,
polar bears and walruses. The Gwich’in Steering Committee has filed
numerous lawsuits to stop the sale. “This current administration has
done nothing but disrespect and violate the rights of our people,”
Demientieff wrote in a statement to _High Country News_. As for an
Indigenous leader of Interior, “I can’t believe it has taken this
long. We have never been included in decisions that will affect our
future.”

While Native voters tend to lean left, Indian Country issues on the
Hill have typically found support with both Republicans and Democrats.
The six Indigenous people who will join the next Congress are split
evenly between the parties. And even though the political atmosphere
has been considerably polarized under the Trump administration, the
prevailing sentiment is that Haaland’s ability to work across the
aisle will keep Indian Country policy from becoming a politically
divisive issue.

“There’s a reason why people like (Republican U.S. Reps.) Don
Young and Tom Cole have publicly spoken out in very positive ways
regarding Deb,” said Keith Harper, a member of the Cherokee Nation
and an Obama appointee who was the first Indigenous person to
represent the U.S. on the United Nations Human Rights Council.
“Because they’ve worked with her and know she’s willing to put
the party politics aside and get pragmatic about challenges.”

“Because we understand that Native American issues are not a matter
of conservative versus liberal, we have accomplished a great deal
together,” said Rep. Cole. Out of all representatives in the House,
Haaland’s bills have had the most bicameral support
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and often bipartisan. And the political allies and partners she’s
made in Congress have some predicting that this would translate to
consensus building across the government on issues affecting Native
people.

“Oftentimes, Interior is looked as the agency that handles Indian
affairs,” said Kim Teehee, the Cherokee Nation’s congressional
delegate. “We have HUD (Housing and Urban Development) that handles
Indian housing, we have the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
that handles broadband, education, the USDA (Department of
Agriculture). There is such a cross-cutting nature of Indian Country
issues, and I think she has the unique ability as a Cabinet secretary
to convene the agencies.”

One non-Native whose name has been floated for the position is
retiring Sen. Tom Udall, a Democrat from New Mexico, who has long been
a champion of Indigenous affairs in Congress. His father, Stewart
Udall, was secretary of Interior from 1961-1969 under presidents John
F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. A number of progressive Native-led
organizations have called on him to remove his name from
consideration. When asked what it could mean for an Indigenous person
to lead Interior, Udall told _High Country News _that_ _“Native
Americans should be in high positions throughout government in the
White House and various agencies – it’s not just about the
Interior Department,” adding that the next secretary
must prioritize tribal nation’s needs with inclusive consultation,
and put in “the hard work to make sure Native voices are front and
center throughout the department.”

_Graham Lee Brewer is an associate editor at High Country News and a
member of the Cherokee Nation. Email him at [email protected] or
submit a letter to the editor
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_Anna V. Smith is an assistant editor for High Country
News. Follow @annavtoriasmith [[link removed]]_

_High Country News is an independent, reader-supported nonprofit
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