MP3 Files: Sen. Tom Udall Introduction | Hilary Tompkins Statement

Hilary Tompkins stressed her Navajo Nation roots on Thursday at her confirmation to be Solicitor of the Interior Department.

Tompkins was put up for adoption after her birth in New Mexico. She was raised by a non-Indian couple in New Jersey but her family always kept her aware of her heritage, she told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"It was far from Indian Country, but I never forgot where I came from," Tompkins said of her East Coast upbringing.

Tompkins later reconnected with her birth mother, who explained the reasons for the adoption. Her mother didn't want to expose her child to alcoholism and poverty on the reservation, she said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Tompkins would be the first Native woman and the first Native American to serve as Interior's top legal official.

Get the Story:
Navajo in Line for Interior Post (The Albuquerque Journal 4/24)

Committee Hearing:
Full Committee Hearing: to consider pending nominations (April 23, 2009)

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