The first Native American to head the Department of the Interior, Deb Haaland pledges to protect natural reso

As Deb Haaland testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, seeking approval to become secretary of the Department of the interior, one senator veered from the usual questions about policy and politics. She simply wanted to know why Haaland wanted the job.

To answer, Haaland drew from her Native American heritage, mindful that she was seeking to set a new milestone in U.S. federal and tribal history. She quoted the password for “United States” used by Navajo Code Talkers during World War II. In Navajo, the term means “our mother.” She explained that it “refers to mother nature, and who would not be motivated by that, the desire to protect it in every way we can?”

The first Native American to head a cabinet department, Haaland vows to protect natural resources as she manages the Interior Department’s vast range of responsibilities. Overseeing 500 million acres of public lands and additional resources underground, the department manages national parks, oil and gas drilling sites and wildlife habitats. Its website affirms that actions are based on “sound science.”

Although the Interior Department works with 574 federally recognized tribes through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other agencies, it has never before been led by a Native American. A 35th-generation New Mexican and a member of Laguna Pueblo, Haaland is the daughter of a Marine Corps officer who won the Silver Star in Vietnam and a mother who served in the U.S. Navy. Haaland became a quick study in adapting to the 13 public schools she attended throughout her youth. Settling in Albuquerque, she earned bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of New Mexico with the help of federal grants and loans.

A former tribal administrator, Haaland began political work as a phone volunteer promoting voter registration among Native Americans. She was the first Native American woman to serve as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party, a position she held from 2015 to 2017. In 2018 she was elected U.S. representative for New Mexico’s First Congressional District, becoming one of two Native American women in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In February, as Haaland completed her confirmation testimony, she added a personal note: “If an Indigenous woman from humble beginnings can be confirmed as secretary of the Interior, our country holds promise for everyone.” But, she added, “this is not about me.”

“It’s about our mother.”