Not One Republican Asked Deb Haaland About Her Vision For Indian Country
02/27/2021 06:00 am ET
They quizzed the Cabinet nominee extensively about fossil fuels, showing what one Native American advocate called their “allegiance” to that industry.
By Chris D’Angelo
In 2019, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) pressed a Trump administration Interior Department official about his history of ridiculing Native Americans over their religious beliefs regarding sacred lands. After downplaying his 2009 statement as one made “as a private attorney representing private clients,” William Perry Pendley, then-acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, said he was excited about the opportunity to work with Native American tribes ― especially to help them develop their oil, gas and mineral resources.
Haaland, a member of the Native American Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, reminded Pendley that tribal priorities don’t start and stop with extraction.
“There are tribes who want to protect their ancestral homelands because they feel like they’re under attack,” she said. “It’s very clear that the energy part is what’s important to you, and not the voices of the people.”
Less than two years later, Haaland is President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Interior Department, the parent agency of the Bureau of Land Management and several other federal agencies. If confirmed, she’ll make history as the nation’s first-ever Indigenous cabinet member, and will lead a massive department that, in addition to managing federal lands, is tasked with upholding the government’s trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations.
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https://www.huffpost.com/entry/deb-haaland-confirmation-tribal-issues_n_6039761ac5b6ff75ac3c5a9d
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