Deb Haaland, a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, addresses the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 2024.
Haaland is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having been one of the first two Native women elected to the U.S. Congress. She represented New Mexico's 1st Congressional district from January 2019 through March 2021.
Haaland is the first Native person to serve in a presidential cabinet. As Secretary, leads the Department of the Interior, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.
"Thirty-five generations ago, my ancestors built lives in the high desert of New Mexico," Haaland said at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. "I am on this stage tonight because of them."
The Democratic National Convention took place from August 19-22, 2024.