WASHINGTON — Deb Haaland made historical past when she was confirmed as President Joe Biden’s inside secretary in 2021, changing into the nation’s first-ever Native American Cupboard secretary.
As an enrolled member of the Pueblo Laguna tribe in New Mexico, she introduced a singular perspective to main the huge federal company that oversees roughly one-fifth of all land within the nation — an company that after forcibly eliminated tens of hundreds of Indigenous individuals from their ancestral properties.
4 years later, Haaland’s legacy is basically outlined by her efforts to spice up conservation of public lands and proper previous wrongs towards Native Individuals by the federal authorities.
In a Friday exit interview, the inside secretary mirrored on a few of her proudest accomplishments, together with her early work with Biden to revive protections to the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante nationwide monuments in Utah, each of which had had their boundaries modified beneath former President Donald Trump.
She additionally singled out her division’s new Federal Indian Boarding College Initiative, a sweeping official assessment of the U.S. authorities’s little-discussed legacy of stealing hundreds of Indigenous kids from their households and forcing them into nightmarish Indian boarding colleges, to attempt to assimilate them into “civilized” white tradition.
Haaland mulled the destiny of her conservation legacy over the subsequent 4 years beneath Trump, whose major pursuits in public lands contain increasing fossil gasoline drilling and dismantling environmental rules.
“I feel confident about the work that we’ve done,” she stated. “It’s durable.”
Days earlier than Biden leaves workplace, Haaland continues to be holding out for him to do one final thing as president: grant clemency to long-imprisoned Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier. Earlier than changing into inside secretary, Haaland was a member of Congress and a robust public advocate for Peltier’s freedom, however she’s been quieter on this entrance in her Cupboard function.
“I hope he can go home,” she stated.
Right here’s a transcript of Haaland’s interview with HuffPost. It has been calmly edited for brevity.
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HuffPost: We spoke while you first took this job, so I needed to circle again to mirror on how the final 4 years went. What are your proudest moments?
Deb Haaland: So many proud moments, proper? One of many first issues I participated in on the White Home as secretary was when President Biden signed the Bears Ears proclamation. He reprotected Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante after the earlier president had unprotected it. So I went there and all of the tribal leaders have been there, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and it was wonderful. It was simply actually wonderful.
I had such large religion that we’d be capable of accomplish numerous issues in these 4 years, just because that was one thing that was a extremely large deal. It form of set the tone in a means, like, “Yes, we can get things done. So let’s just keep moving forward.” And I’m so lucky to have had an incredible group who felt the identical means, who have been actually able to work and work very very laborious.
HP: In order that was your proudest second?
DH: One in every of my proudest moments. Different proud moments, I imply, we simply signed Chuckwalla [National Monument into law] simply the opposite day. That was the primary time I received to stroll within the room with the president. That was fairly superior. And the Federal Indian Boarding College Initiative that we completed, the 2 volumes, plus the suggestions, and now we’re engaged on the oral historical past venture. And the president giving a nationwide acknowledgement and apology. We additionally completed our 10-year Native language plan. We’re not right here to see it via, however the plan itself is accomplished, and so it is going to be as much as of us down the highway to choose it up and guarantee that they’ll do one thing with it.
HP: Had been there any main surprises on this job?
DH: Surprises, I imply, I realized a lot right here. The Division of the Inside manages all of our public lands. I’ve had alternatives to go to some wonderful wildlife refuges. I had no concept that individuals excavated sea turtles’ nests. And we received to see them try this. It’s basically rescuing some child sea turtles who form of received stranded in these nests, as a result of they didn’t hatch quickly sufficient to emerge with all of their siblings. And so we received to share some child sea turtles into the ocean in the future.
DH: The general public servants who’re caring for all of these items, it’s very wonderful, and I simply really feel immense gratitude.
HP: To what extent do you suppose your conservation legacy will survive the subsequent 4 years? Trump has already signaled his curiosity in reviewing nationwide monument designations and protections.
DH: Properly, to begin with, I really feel assured that we did issues proper. I really feel assured that we have been on strong authorized floor and had all the precise type of buy-in from communities, from delegations, from all of the gamers that come collectively to say, “Yes, we want this.” I feel it is likely to be a bit troublesome for them to return in and wish to dismantle every little thing.
However I really feel assured in regards to the work that we’ve completed, that it’s sturdy. That we’ve been ready to make sure that the group is there to additionally defend the issues that they’ve requested us to maneuver ahead in that means.
HP: OK. So that you haven’t been laying awake at night time pondering, ‘oh no, all these things I’ve labored to guard are toast’?
DH: I can’t. I can’t lay awake and fret over these items. Nonetheless, what I can do is proceed what I’ve been telling all the profession workers within the conferences that I’ve been to over the past a number of months, which is, I’m going to be cheering for you from the sidelines wherever I’m. I’m going to regulate your progress and I’m going to assist you in any means I can.
I actually really feel just like the work is rarely completed. I discussed the attorneys, however there’s additionally a complete physique of scientific information on the market that helped us within the choices that we made, as effectively. The science and the regulation, we relied on it closely. If the science helps the issues that we did, I feel it is going to be tougher to undo them.
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HP: Have you learnt Trump’s inside secretary nominee in any respect, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum?
DH: I’ve solely met him just a few instances on the Western Governors’ Affiliation conferences.
HP: OK. Do you’ve got any sense of his dedication to doing something good for the planet?
DH: [Laughs] I couldn’t inform you in the mean time. However because you’re the journalist, maybe you may ask him.
HP: I can. I hoped possibly you knew one thing I didn’t. Any regrets from the final 4 years?
DH: I can’t consider any regrets. I imply, we gave it our all each single day. I feel I traveled like 46% of the time. We have been on the highway visiting, and I inform you, I went to some locations and the workers on the nationwide park or the wildlife refuge, they might say, we’ve by no means had a go to from the secretary. … We did go to locations off the crushed path. All over the place I went, I spoke to profession workers and thanked them for the work they’re doing.
A part of what I needed to do with my time period right here is absolutely attempt to increase morale. As you may think, morale was not on the highest degree once I received right here.
DH: I actually felt like I needed to spice up morale as a result of if you’re glad at work, you’re going to do a greater job. I encourage everybody to raise one another up, to be variety. Say a form phrase. These have been all my mantras all over the place I went. I feel that numerous the profession workers, even the political appointees, acknowledge that and all of us attempt to actually raise everyone up.
As I discussed, the morale wasn’t the very best the final time, earlier than Biden [and when Trump was the president]. So proper once I first received right here, that was certainly one of my targets, to spice up morale throughout the division, and I really feel like we did that.
“If the science supports the things that we did, I think it will be harder to undo them.”
Might I inform you a fast story? So my mother labored within the [Bureau of Indian Affairs] for 25 years. It was earlier than the Bureau of Indian Training. She labored for the BIA in Albuquerque within the superintendent’s workplace, and yearly she’d come to Washington, D.C., to do scholar counts. It’s once they rely all the scholars and all of the Indian colleges throughout the nation, and that quantity determines their funding.
So my mother would come to D.C. annually and try this with a pair people. She labored down on the fourth flooring, the place BIA is. The elevator was open there, and it comes straight as much as the sixth flooring, the place my workplace is. The elevator door was open and she or he informed her good friend, “Let’s get in and see if we can go up and say hello to the secretary.” She got here up on the elevator, and she or he stated the door opened they usually wouldn’t even let off the elevator. “They told us we needed to go back down.” So she informed me that story, and I stated, effectively, Should you can ever come to D.C., I’ll welcome you to my workplace and all of that, proper?
However I informed my workers that I needed to have an open home for any of the workers within the constructing who had by no means had an opportunity to return as much as the secretary’s workplace. So we had a protracted line of individuals on Wednesday. For hours. There have been lots of and lots of of people that got here up right here, and we took pictures collectively after which I simply requested them, “If you want to look around, look around at the art. Take your time.” It was a very nice gathering.
HP: What’s subsequent for you?
DH: I couldn’t say in the mean time. However no matter it’s, I’ve not modified. There are issues that all the time want consideration, proper? I used to be an advocate and an activist lengthy earlier than I ever got here to Washington D.C. I’ll possible proceed to advocate for all the issues that I care about.
HP: Why do I’ve a sense that you simply’re going to remain in public service?
DH: As a result of I’m younger and vibrant? [Laughs]
HP: One final thing. How are you feeling about Leonard Peltier’s destiny?
DH: I imply, at this second I truly really feel considerably hopeful. I do know that there’s a plethora of individuals on the market, hundreds of individuals, chiming in, lots of of tribal leaders, members of Congress. Once we did the boarding college initiative, I used to be within the photograph line with the president, and other people would come via and ask the president instantly if he would supply Leonard Peltier clemency. So I do know that he’s listening to it from lots of people. I additionally know that people who find themselves near him are additionally listening to it.
I’ve supported his clemency for a really very long time. I feel he has paid his debt to society, since he’s served for nearly 50 years. He’s an previous man.
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And fairly frankly, what I take into consideration, once I inform those who I stand on the shoulders of people that got here earlier than me, in [Peltier’s] period of Indian activism, individuals have been flat-out forgotten in Indian communities throughout the nation. The federal authorities didn’t care about Indian tribes. It was on the heels of them terminating lots of of tribes in California, taking away individuals’s fishing rights, not upholding treaty obligations. It was that period of Native individuals who labored laborious to remind the federal government that that they had an obligation. And truthfully, it was necessary for the federal authorities to be reminded of these obligations. So I’m right here. I stand on all of their shoulders.
HP: Are you referring to Leonard Peltier’s shoulders?
DH: Properly, I imply, all of their shoulders. He was an activist from means again when, and I’ll additionally say that he was a boarding college survivor. So truthfully, I hope he can go residence.
