Deb Haaland’s Confirmation as Interior Secretary to Indigenous Communities

March 15, 2021

Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) 116th Congress Official PhotoIn a new post on the Berkeley Blog, ISSI's Joseph A. Myers Center affiliated scholar Nazune Menka explains the historic impact and symbolic importance of the confirmation of Deb Haaland, an Indigenous woman, as the United States' Interior Secretary. Not only does Haaland symbolize Indigenous strength and resilience, Menka stresses, she is the first Secretary of the DOI who "has a lived understanding of what Tribal sovereignty is and why it is important, and who truly understands that a government-to-government relationship requires collaboration (and not just consultation)."