Hollywood Celebs, Tribal Leaders, and Progressives Urge Joe Biden To Appoint A Native American As U.S. Interior Secretary

A drive urging Joe Biden to appoint a Native American to lead the U.S. Department of Interior is reportedly accelerating following his campaign pledge to “ensure tribes have a seat at the table at the highest levels of the federal government.”

According to The Washington Post, “an increasing number of liberal members of Congress, climate activists, Hollywood celebrities and tribal groups are coalescing in support of Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.).” The outlet described the first-term representative as “an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna,” noting she would “become the first descendant of North America’s original people” to hold that position if appointed.

“Of course, it would be highly symbolic,” Haaland told the WaPo earlier this month. “I’m happy that a Native American being mentioned for a Cabinet-level position is actually a thing.”

Are you ready to make the record-breaking @JoeBiden – @KamalaHarris win even more historic? Join us in urging #PresidentElectJoeBiden to appoint @RepDebHaaland for Secretary of the Interior. She would be the 1st Native American to lead it. Please watch and share! #DebforInterior pic.twitter.com/PpFWYlgG47

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) November 20, 2020

The Post also identified another Native American, Michael L. Connor, who served as deputy Interior secretary in the Obama administration, as a potential nominee. The international law firm that made Connor a partner in 2017 said, “his maternal grandfather was a member of Taos Pueblo and an original member of the Pueblo’s water rights task force,” but indicated he was “not an enrolled member of the tribe.”

As The Post reported, “both Indigenous candidates are up against another strong contender for the job in retiring Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), who has worked with Biden for decades on Capitol Hill and whose father served as interior secretary in the 1960s.”

Still, several progressive activist groups have asked Udall, who is white, to remove his name from consideration.

.@sunrisemvmt joins other progressive groups in calling for Sen. Udall to support Rep. Haaland as the next secretary of the Interior Dept.

Udall and Haaland are both on Biden's shortlist for the post. pic.twitter.com/Rj2Am4ZMCS

— Chris D'Angelo 🌎 (@c_m_dangelo) December 11, 2020

The New York Times points out that if either Haaland or Connor are confirmed, it would be the first time a Native American would “control the federal agencies most responsible for the well-being of the nation’s 1.9 million Indigenous people.”

The Times described Haaland as having “star power,” while reporting that Connor’s “experience is unquestioned,” and:

For either candidate, a nomination would hold enormous power for Native Americans. The Interior Department has for much of the nation’s history governed federal lands and often dislodged and abused Native Americans. In 1972, about 500 Native American activists took over the department’s headquarters in Washington, protesting living standards and broken treaties.

The next Interior Secretary also will be entrusted to restore environmental protections to the millions of acres of public lands that the Trump administration has opened up to drilling, mining, logging and construction.

Historians and Native American leaders said that appointing a Native American to head the Interior Department would be a profound moment in American history.

Some Biden advisors have expressed concerns that Haaland lacks policy experience. However, her supporters, such as House Natural Resources Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), claim such criticism “comes from insiders who rotate in and out of Democratic administrations.”

“The Department of Interior was essentially set up not to take care of Indigenous people – it was set up to tear them down and disenfranchise them,” Congressman Grijalva (D-Az) has said. “To come full circle, historically, and to put an Indigenous person in front of Interior who can do the job – you don’t often get that kind of opportunity to make history.”

.@JoeBiden rematriate the land, water & sky!

Indigenous Environmental Network w/ 37 affiliated Native orgs delivered a letter urging Biden to tap @RepDebHaaland as the next Secretary of the Department of Interior.

Read the letter here:https://t.co/wz0E993NVO pic.twitter.com/YTPeIanSiU

— Indigenous Environmental Network (@IENearth) November 16, 2020

Last week, a litany of female Hollywood celebrities signed a letter to Mr. Biden and Kamala Harris asking them to choose Haaland. According to Variety, the push was organized in part by actress Marisa Tomei and We Stand United, a tax-exempt social welfare group that has rallied against President Donald Trump and promoted the ‘resist’ movement since his inauguration.

“We believe it is critical at this time for the first Native American to serve in the President’s Cabinet, so we can begin to shift the focus back to caring for future generations and returning to the value system that honors Mother Earth,” the letter reads. “Rep. Haaland will be a strong steward of our precious natural resources and will return to the practice of science-based decision-making.”

The request was reportedly signed by international pop icon Cher, actress Jane Fonda, comedienne Chelsea Handler, and activist Sandra Fluke, among others.

Rep. Haaland and Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) became the first two Native American women elected to Congress in 2018.