Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland addresses the Navajo Nation Spring Day of Prayer on March 19, 2021.

Haaland was introduced by President Jonathan Nez, who spoke from Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo Nation.

Thank you to @POTUS Biden, First Lady @DrBiden, @SecDebHaaland, and our Nation’s leaders for being a part of today’s “Navajo Nation Day of Prayer” event to honor and remember those we have lost to COVID-19 in the past year. We will overcome together! Ahe’hee’ 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/fBEXgbkytQ

— Jonathan Nez (@NezForAZ) March 19, 2021

“She is our fierce leader,” he said, citing Haaland’s accomplishments as one of the first two Native women elected to Congress and now the first Native person in a U.S. presidential cabinet.

Haaland, a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, joined the event from her office in Washington, D.C. She became the leader of the Department of the Interior, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities, on March 17.

“I love the Navajo Nation,” Haaland said. She expressed remorse for the lives lost on the largest reservation in the U.S. to COVID-19.

“This pandemic has caused so much pain for so many people across the United States, but I know it has hit the Navajo Nation very hard,” she said.

"This past year has been incredibly painful for all of us

… but it has also brought out the best in us.”@SecDebHaaland #DebAtInterior @NNPrezNez #COVID19 #Coronavirus @Interior pic.twitter.com/rN53GZzrxY

— indianz.com (@indianz) March 19, 2021