fbpx
Donate Get Newsletter
Donate Get Newsletter
 

Interior Secretary-designee Deb Haaland Pledges to Tribal Leaders, If Confirmed, Meaningful Consultation

Details
WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary-designee Deb Haaland hosted on Monday morning a virtual roundtable with tribal leaders from Indian Country. During the meeting, the Secretary-designee reiterated President-elect Joe Biden’s promise to tribal nations and Indigenous communities to fully honor America’s sacred trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations. 
 
During the virtual meeting, she pledged, if confirmed, she would ensure that the Interior Department engages in early, frequent, and meaningful consultation with tribal leaders on all decisions that affect indigenous communities.
 
Haaland was nominted by President-elect Biden on Dec. 17, 2020 to be the secretary of U.S. Dept. of the Interior. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Haaland will become the first American Indian ever to serve in a presidential cabinet.  
 
Haaland also discussed how the incoming Biden-Harris Administration will work in coordination with tribal communities who bear disproportionate harm from long-running environmental injustices and are being adversely affected by the impacts of climate change on their homelands.
 

Secretary-designee Haaland reiterated that she shares the president-elect’s commitment to advancing environmental justice and empowering communities who have shouldered the burdens of environmental negligence. She will help implement the president-elect’s vision to turn the climate crisis into an unprecedented opportunity to create millions of good-paying union jobs across the country, power our economy with clean energy, conserve and restore our nation’s lands and waters, position the United States as an exporter of 21st century products, and make our economy stronger, more resilient, and inclusive. 

Haaland was joined by incoming Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Cedric Richmond and incoming Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Julie Rodriguez.

 

More Stories Like This

NCAI Mid Year Underway on Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Homelands
Native News Weekly (June 3, 2023): D.C. Briefs
House Passes Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal; How Native American Members of Congress Voted
History Made as First Navajo Appointed U.S. Federal Judge in California
California Bill Aims to Increase State Funding for Tribal Housing

Native News is free to read.

We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.

Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps.  Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.

Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you. 

About The Author
Native News Online Staff
Author: Native News Online StaffEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at [email protected].