Indigenous scholars are celebrating President-elect Joe Biden’s nomination of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland for secretary of the interior. A Democratic Congresswoman from New Mexico, Haaland would be the first Native American to serve in the position.
“It’s profound to think about the history of this country’s policies to exterminate Native Americans and the resilience of our ancestors that gave me a place here today,” Haaland said. “I’m forever grateful and will do everything I can to be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land. I am honored and ready to serve.”
This won’t be Haaland’s first time becoming “the first.” Two years ago, she and Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids became the first two indigenous women elected to Congress.
Nonetheless, Dr. Heather J. Shotton felt “disbelief” when she heard the news about Biden’s secretary of the interior pick. She’s the director of indigenous education initiatives for University of Oklahoma’s college of education, as well as an associate professor and chair of educational leadership and policy studies.
“I was a little bit in shock, and then just really overcome with joy – and just really proud,” Shotton said. “That kind of representation, it matters. I have two daughters. I think about the kind of role models and representation they have that I didn’t have growing up, that my aunties and my parents didn’t have, that my grandparents didn’t have. We’ll see the lasting impact of that on our youth and future generations for them to be able to imagine different futures and possibilities for themselves.”
But it’s not only about representation. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Haaland would be heading the department that interfaces with tribal governments and oversees much of life in tribal lands, noted Carla Fredericks, who directs the American Indian Law Clinic at the University of Colorado Law School and First Peoples Worldwide at the University of Colorado. She’s also a faculty affiliate at the university’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility.
For one thing, the Interior Department contains the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which manages tribal lands, their natural resources and much of their social services as a part of the federal government’s trust responsibilities.
