Deb Haaland

Debra Anne Haaland (born December 2, 1960) is an American politician. Haaland was the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2021 to 2025 during the Joe Biden administration She was the U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from January 3, 2019 until March 16, 2021.

Deb Haaland
54th United States Secretary of the Interior
In office March 16, 2021 – January 20, 2025
President	Joe Biden
Deputy	Tommy Beaudreau
Preceded by	David Bernhardt
Succeeded by	Doug Burgum
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 1st district
In office January 3, 2019 – March 16, 2021
Preceded by	Michelle Lujan Grisham
Succeeded by	Melanie Stansbury
Chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party
In office April 25, 2015 – April 29, 2017
Preceded by	Sam Bregman
Succeeded by	Richard Ellenberg
Personal details
Born	Debra Anne Haaland (1960-12-02) December 2, 1960 (age 64) Winslow, Arizona, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Skip Sayre ​ (m. 2021)​
Children	1
Education	University of New Mexico (BA, JD)
Website	House website

She is a former Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. She was one of the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress, alongside Sharice Davids, both in 2018.^[1]

Secretary of the Interior

On December 17, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden nominated Haaland to serve as United States Secretary of the Interior in his cabinet.^[2] She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 15, 2021 with a 51 to 40 vote.^[3][4] She is the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.^[a][5][6][7]

On her first day as secretary, Haaland met with tribal media in a press conference, speaking about her plan to include the tribes as decisions that impact them are made.^[8]

In May 2021, Haaland approved the new constitution of the Cherokee Nation.^[9]

In June 2021, Haaland announced the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.^[10][11]

In November 2021, Haaland banned the word "squaw", a derogatory term for Native American women, from all federally owned lands, and ordered a task force to determine new names for the 650 places that currently use the word.^[12][13]

In March 2023, Haaland announced $25 million to be dedicated to bison conservation.^[14]

Haaland took part in President Biden's designation of national monuments, including Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.^[15][16]

Personal life

Haaland has a child, Somáh, whom she raised as a single mother.^[17] On August 28, 2021, Haaland married her longtime partner, Skip Sayre, in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.^[18][19]

Notes

1. Charles Curtis, who served as Vice President between 1929 and 1933, was the first ever Native American to serve in a United States Cabinet, but never served as a Cabinet secretary.^[5]

References

1. The U.S. Is Getting Its First Native American Congresswoman as Deb Haaland won and will assume office in January 2019, Fortune, McKenna Moore, 7 June 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
2. Eilperin, Juliet; Grandoni, Dino. "Biden picks Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) to be first Native American interior secretary". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
3. King, Ledyard. "Deb Haaland makes history as first Native American Cabinet member after Senate confirmation". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
4. Higgins, Tucker (2021-03-15). "Deb Haaland confirmed as first Native American Cabinet secretary". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
5. Dlouhy, Jennifer A.; Epstein, Jennifer (December 17, 2020). "Biden Picks Deb Haaland to Be First Native American Secretary of Interior". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
6. Rott, Nathan (December 17, 2020). "In Historic Move, Biden To Pick Native American Rep. Haaland As Interior Secretary". NPR. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
7. Ortiz, Erik (December 18, 2020). ""They feel hope": Why Rep. Haaland, nominated as first Native American interior secretary, is meaningful". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
8. Brewer, Graham Lee (March 18, 2021). "On day one, Haaland addresses Indigenous media: Tribal journalists given first opportunity to interview first Indigenous secretary of Interior". High Country News. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
9. "Secretary Haaland Approves New Constitution for Cherokee Nation, Guaranteeing Full Citizenship Rights for Cherokee Freedmen". U.S. Department of the Interior. May 12, 2021. Archived from the original on Oct 9, 2023.
10. "Secretary Haaland Announces Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative" (Press release). U.S. Department of the Interior. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
11. Hauser, Christine; Grullón Paz, Isabella (23 June 2021). "U.S. to Search Former Native American Schools for Children's Remains". The New York Times.
12. Chappell, Bill (November 19, 2021). "Interior Secretary Deb Haaland moves to ban the word 'squaw' from federal lands". NPR. Archived from the original on Sep 21, 2023.
13. Torchinsky, Rina (February 23, 2022). "The U.S. looks to replace a derogatory name used hundreds of times on federal lands". NPR. Archived from the original on Dec 4, 2023.
14. Brown, Matthew (March 3, 2023). "US to focus bison restoration on expanding tribal herds". AP. Archived from the original on Mar 29, 2023.
15. "Interior Secretary visits possible Avi Kwa Ame national monument landscape in Nevada". The Wilderness Society. September 8, 2022. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
16. "Secretary Haaland Highlights Locally Led Conservation Efforts in Visit to Grand Canyon Region". U.S. Department of the Interior. 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
17. "NM Democratic Chair Haaland Statement On Marriage Equality". KRWG. June 26, 2015. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
18. "Sec. Deb Haaland Marries Long-Time Partner In Weekend Ceremony In New Mexico". The Paper (Albuquerque, NM). August 29, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
19. "Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, partner wed in New Mexico". SFGATE. August 30, 2021. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.