By Kaycee Prevedel
April 1, 2021
In 2019, Debra Haaland’s nomination to the House of Representatives gave Native American women representation within the U.S. legal system for the first time in 243 years. Haaland ran for office on a platform focused on climate change and creating sustainable alternatives for fossil fuels, supporting working families, Medicare for all, and promoting income equality.
Now, Haaland is taking on another historic role, as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. She is the first Indigenous person to ever lead the Department of the Interior. A member of the Laguna Pueblo nation of New Mexico, Debra Haaland’s family traces back 35 generations on American soil. Like other Native American peoples, they suffered centuries of mistreatment and disrespect from the very department that Haaland will now lead.
Haaland’s nomination may signal a new era for the relationship between the U.S. government and the environment. As Secretary of the Interior, Haaland will be responsible for overseeing major land management agencies, and directly advising the President on decisions about natural resources and public land management strategies. Public land is inherently some of the last remaining ancestral homelands for many Native American nations.
Haaland has already proven to be a champion for natural resources and Indigenous landscapes. In February, she introduced to the House the 30 by 30 Resolution to Save Nature, which would conserve 30 percent of the United States’ land and oceans by 2030.
“We believe that it will protect habitats of species that are being driven to extinction by climate change and other issues. The more we can save our public lands from destruction from gas and oil drilling, from mining and so forth, the better off we will be.” (Haaland, June 24, 2020)
The Sierra Club is also focusing on 30x30 efforts and realizes that protecting public lands plays a major part in achieving that commitment. When asked what she considered to be the most pressing environmental issue, Haaland said:
“It’s climate change and how we go about addressing climate change. I am a proud member of the Pueblo of Laguna. Our Pueblo communities are connected to the earth. We practice ancient agricultural traditions, and when we migrated to this area of the Southwest, we know — just like so many farming communities across New Mexico know — that we need to protect our land. We need to protect our water. We need to be able to grow our food so we can sustain ourselves.”
Congresswoman Haaland also has strong and varied support. In a letter publicly released by the Wilderness Society during the confirmation hearings, nearly 500 environmental and Indigenous groups have called for her confirmation. The letter said:
“Rep. Haaland is a proven leader and the right person to lead the charge against the existential threats of our time – tackling the climate, biodiversity, extinction and COVID-19 crises, and racial justice inequities on our Federal public lands and waters… Rep. Haaland’s confirmation would be both an historic and much-needed step toward reckoning with a long and troubling legacy while building new, lasting, equitable achievements.” (Wilderness Society, February 16, 2021)
The Sierra Club supports Debra Haaland’s platform and historic nomination and confirmation. Haaland has been a leader for getting bipartisan support within Congress and has been a strong advocate for responsible environmental actions and policy regarding climate change. We support Secretary Haaland as a strong and capable leader for the environment and someone we trust to make sound decisions about public land policy.
References
Rivas, M. (2021, March 13). Where environmental policy stands right now. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.shondaland.com/act/news-politics/a32949534/where-environmental-policy-stands/
Wilderness.org ( 2021, Feburary 16). Haaland community support letter. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.wilderness.org/sites/default/files/media/file/Haaland%20Community%20Support%20Letter.pdf