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To: Joe Biden
Tell Biden: Pick Rep. Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary
We urge you to nominate Rep. Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior. It's long past time for a progressive indigeous person, committed to action on the climate crisis, to oversee our public lands and honor our commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities.
Why is this important?
Joe Biden has a huge opportunity to choose a progressive champion on climate action and a Native American leader to a crucial Cabinet post: Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico.
Representative Haaland would be the first Native American Secretary of the Interior -- with the power to end fossil fuel extraction on public lands, return land to Indigenous stewardship, and start implementing a Green New Deal.
The Department of the Interior oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and oversees oil and gas leases on federal land. It manages more than 500 million acres of American land, including the National Park System.
Haaland has served as a tribal administrator, and in Congress serves as vice-chair of the Committee on Natural Resources -- experience that makes her ready to lead the Department of the Interior.
The Department of the Interior has never had a Native American lead it. After centuries of oppression at the hands of the federal government, including the Department of the Interior, it’s long past time for an enrolled tribal member to lead this crucial agency.
Over 150 tribal leaders, Democratic and Republican senators, and environmental groups have called for her to get the post. But the Biden transition team is hedging. Tell them to pick Rep. Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary!