Deb Haaland and Indigenous Politics

Interior Sec. Deb Haaland on April 23, 2021. [AFP / Jim Watson]

Even before Deb Haaland joined President Joe Biden’s cabinet as Interior Secretary, activists had high expectations for her. She would be the first Indigenous person to hold the position that oversees tribal lands and many environmental protections. 

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported Monday, Haaland advised Biden to restore protections to three national monuments, the boundaries of which were significantly reduced by the Trump administration to make way for mining, drilling, and other development.

Haaland’s recommendation would restore protection to millions of acres at Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante, as well as to the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine monument, which Trump had opened to commercial fishing last year. Each monument is of unique importance:

• Bears Ears National Monument, which Trump reduced by 85 percent, is a cultural landmark for five tribal nations (the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Pueblo of Zuni) and contains fossils hundreds of millions of years old.

• Grand Staircase–Escalante, which Trump cut down by half, is home to several dinosaur fossil discoveries.

• Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, sea canyons and underwater mountains off the coast of New England, is home to the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Indigenous politics often emphasize the respectful conservation of land, and Indigenous activists have long been critical of administrations that fail to prioritize its protection and its importance to the day-to-day lives of Native people. 

In January, New Republic journalist Nick Martin told subtext that Haaland’s nomination was meaningful, “both for the idea of Native representation atop an agency that has, for a long, long time, existed to undermine tribal sovereignty, [harass] tribal governments in a way that only reflects the colonial governmental structure, [and that] she can use that position for good in the same way she used her Congress position for good … You just kind of hold out hope.” It’s hope Haaland may be delivering on. Now the ball is in Biden’s court.

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