fbpx
 

The U.S. Department of the Interior has named a Native American attorney as a top policy adviser to Secretary Deb Haaland.  

Lynn Trujillo, who directed New Mexico’s Indian Affairs Department, was announced as senior counselor to Haaland on Friday.  Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, is the first Native American to serve as a cabinet Secretary in the country's history. 

Trujillo, a member of Sandia Pueblo and also part Acoma and Taos Pueblos, worked for four years as a state cabinet Secretary in the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. 

She played an important role as a liaison between the state and Native communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trujillo was also actively involved in issues affecting Indian Country, including funding for schools on Native trust lands, justice for missing and murdered Indigenous people and tribal economic development.  She left the Lujan administration in November 2022. 

Prior to her role with the state of New Mexico, Trujillo worked with Native American Tribes and organizations across the country as a national Native American coordinator for USDA Rural Development programs. 

Her past experiences include organizing in Tribal communities and practicing Indian Law in Washington D.C. and New Mexico. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.

More Stories Like This

Native News Weekly (March 26, 2023): D.C. Briefs
State-Funded Charter School Says Native 1st-Grader's Traditional Hair Violates Dress Code
Rep. Peltola, Sen. Mullin Introduce Legislation to Protect 2nd Amendment Rights of Native Americans
Navajo Nation Mourns Loss of Former President Ben Shelly
Native American Church Chapter Sues Bank for Racial and Religious Discrimination

12 years of Native News

This month, we celebrate our 12th year of delivering Native News to readers throughout Indian Country and beyond. 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 this month to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and to 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]