A member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo tribe is the new U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Deb Haaland has become the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.
The U.S. Senate voted 51-40, yesterday, to confirm the Democrat congresswoman to lead the Dept. of the Interior; an agency that will play a crucial role in the Biden administration’s ambitious efforts to combat climate change and conserve nature.
Yesterday, Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata offered her congratulations to Secretary Haaland.
“I want to welcome and congratulate Secretary Haaland, my former colleague,” said Uifaatali.
“She mentioned that she wants to come and see American Samoa on a visit soon. I know Secretary Haaland as we served together on the House Natural Resources Committee. She is qualified and ready to provide steady leadership to the Department, and she takes her place in U.S. history as the first Native American in this role. I’m pleased to have the top leadership of the Department in place, so that work and decisions can move forward. The role of the Interior Department is always important to the Insular Areas.”
It’s not the first time Haaland has made history. In 2018, she became one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Her nomination by President Biden to lead the Dept. of the Interior was celebrated by tribal groups, environmental organizations and lawmakers who called the action long overdue. Her nomination faced opposition, though, from Republican lawmakers and industry groups that portrayed Haaland’s stance on various environmental issues as extreme.
As a congresswoman, Haaland was a frequent critic of the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda and supported limits on fossil fuel development on public lands. She opposes hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” She was also one of the first lawmakers to support the Green New Deal which calls for drastic action to address climate change and economic inequality.
