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\r\n<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Deb Haaland<\/a> (D-New Mexico) is inching closer to making history as the first Native person to serve in a modern-day presidential cabinet.\r\n <\/p>\r\nHaaland, a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, will go before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee<\/a> for her confirmation hearing next week. The February 23 proceeding is a long-awaited development for Indian Country, where tribal leaders and tribal citizens alike see her nomination to be Secretary of the Interior in President Joe Biden’s administration<\/a> as extremely significant.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cThe United States must uphold its responsibility to tribal nations, honor its treaties, and provide a voice for Indian Country in the federal government,\u201d a national letter of support<\/a> that will be submitted to the committee reads. \u201cIt is with this responsibility in mind and with tremendous enthusiasm that we urge you to swiftly consider and confirm President Joseph R. Biden\u2019s nomination of Rep. Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior.\u201d\r\n <\/p>\r\nShould she be confirmed as Secretary, Haaland will be the first Native person in charge of the Department of the Interior<\/a>, the federal agency with the largest number of programs serving tribes and their citizens. Her workload would include the Bureau of Indian Affairs<\/a>, the Bureau of Indian Education<\/a> and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration<\/a>, along with countless other areas that affect American Indians and Alaska Natives.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cThe nomination of Deb Haaland is one of the brightest spots of the Biden administration thus far,\u201d Jodi Archambault, a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who previously served in high-ranking positions during the Barack Obama era, said during a virtual event hosted by Advance Native Political Leadership<\/a> last week.\r\n <\/p>\r\nOf the 46th president of the United States, Archambault said: \u201cHe\u2019s bringing a Native voice to the highest decision-making processes of the federal government.\u201d \r\n <\/p>\r\nBut while Haaland has drawn widespread support from tribal nations, Democrats and even fellow Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives<\/a>, her reception has been somewhat chilly in the U.S. Senate<\/a>. Though her Cabinet-level nomination was announced back in December, her confirmation hearing has been among the last to be scheduled.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cIt really should not be necessary for us to explain why Rep. Haaland is the most-fitting nominee for Secretary of the Interior in our nation\u2019s history, but in this divisive political atmosphere we feel that we must attempt to briefly summarize why,\u201d the leaders of several inter-tribal organizations wrote in a letter<\/a> to Sen. Steve Daines<\/a> (R-Montana), who serves on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee<\/a>.\r\n <\/p>\r\n \u201cRep. Haaland has not been nominated to President Biden\u2019s cabinet on the basis of wealth, social status, or to repay a favor, quite the contrary, Deb Haaland\u2019s life and career has exemplified selflessness and acting in service to others,\u201d the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council<\/a>, the Global Indigenous Council<\/a> and the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen\u2019s Association<\/a> wrote on February 10.\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nYet Daines, who also serves on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<\/a>, is among those who have already voiced opposition to Haaland. After meeting with her earlier this month, he characterized her views as \u201cradical\u201d for people living in Montana and in the West — without mentioning that his state and the region are home to more tribes than any other in the U.S.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cAfter our conversation, I’m deeply concerned with the Congresswoman’s support on several radical issues that will hurt Montana, our way of life, our jobs and rural America, including her support for the Green New Deal and President Biden’s oil and gas moratorium, as well as her opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline,\u201d Daines said on February 5<\/a>, citing policies that have proven to be popular<\/a> throughout the nation.\r\n <\/p>\r\n \u201cI’m not convinced the Congresswoman can divorce her radical views and represent what’s best for Montana and all stakeholders in the West. Unless my concerns are addressed, I will block her confirmation,\u201d Daines threatened.\r\n <\/p>\r\nDaines isn’t the only member of the GOP intent on slowing Haaland’s rise to power. Sen. John Barrasso<\/a> (R-Wyoming), the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has repeatedly criticized<\/a> the Biden administration’s actions on energy development, seemingly in an attempt to force her into contradicting the president, or into taking a stance different from the president’s.\r\n <\/p>\r\n Interior secretary nominee has joined pipeline protests and opposed fracking https:\/\/t.co\/IDFBD1bOgk<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t <\/P>\r\n Barrasso, a former chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs who spoke with the Interior nominee by phone<\/a> in early January, insisted in a statement last week that Haaland \u201cmust demonstrate that she will follow the law, protect the multiple uses of our public lands and reject policies that will force energy workers into the unemployment line.\u201d He didn’t mention that as president, Biden has the authority to determine how the executive branch implements federal statutes, a power enshrined in the U.S Constitution.\r\n <\/p>\r\nWith the Senate evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, and with committees reflecting the same delicate divide<\/a>, any dissent threatens Haaland’s nomination. But experts in Indian law and policy believe the chamber will eventually vote to confirm her as Secretary of the Interior despite \u201ccomplications\u201d related to Biden’s directives affecting resource extraction, climate change and related issues\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cThe historic nature of Deb Haaland’s nomination I think will make it very difficult for several Republicans to object, especially those have have strong ties to Indian Country, \u201d attorney Sarah A. Walters<\/a>, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said during an event hosted by the National Congress of American Indians<\/a> last month.\r\n <\/P>\r\nBoth Daines and Barrasso come from states with significant Indian populations. In fact, almost every member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee<\/a>, Democrats and Republicans alike, falls in the same boat, whether it be Sen. Maria Cantwell<\/a> (D-Washington) or Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a> (R-Alaska). There’s also lots of overlap with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<\/a>. \r\n <\/p>\r\n Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t <\/p>\r\nMembers of the Senate often raise concerns about presidential nominees in hopes of securing concessions from the executive branch — even those from the same political party. Sen. Joe Manchin<\/a> (D-West Virginia), the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, enjoys strong ties to the development industry and has already called on Biden to reconsider his decision<\/a> to cancel the presidential permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline<\/a>, a decision that was completely outside of Interior’s purview.\r\n <\/P>\r\n\u201cHe probably has some qualms to some of the more progressive views on extraction and minerals and fossil fuels, considering that he’s from West Virginia,\u201d Walters said of Manchin, who will lead Haaland’s confirmation hearing<\/a> next Tuesday.\r\n <\/P>\r\nThough members of U.S. House of Representatives don’t vote on presidential nominees, Haaland is unique in that she has been endorsed by members of the GOP in the chamber. Rep. Don Young<\/a> (R-Alaska), the highest-ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States<\/a>, praised her in a public appearance on Wednesday.\r\n <\/P>\r\n\u201cI’ve worked with Deb Haaland before,\u201d Young, who as Dean of the House<\/a> is the longest continuously serving member there, told the Native American Contractors Association<\/a> on the first day of its virtual conference<\/a>.\r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cWe’re going to continue to work together to try to make sure that my Alaska Natives — primarily, I have to be very frank with you — and American Indians in the lower 48 can continue to go forth and be successful,\u201d\r\nsaid Young, whose late wife and children are Alaska Native. He will be introducing Haaland at her confirmation hearing<\/a> next week, along with Sen. Martin Heinrich<\/a> (D-New Mexico).\r\n <\/p>\r\n Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t <\/p>\r\nHaaland also addressed NACA’s annual Federal Contracting Policy and Advocacy Conference via video<\/a>. She focused mainly on new laws that will enhance economic development in Indian Country but spoke briefly of ongoing efforts in the new presidential administration to advance opportunities for those often left behind. \r\n <\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Biden-Harris administration got off the right foot to help this work by signing an executive order that will ensure the federal government takes an ‘all-of-government’ approach to equity and does not perpetuate the racial injustice that has caused disparities that have put our communities at greater health and economic risks during this pandemic,\u201d Haaland said in reference to COVID-19<\/a>, which has impacted American Indians and Alaska Natives at disproportionate levels. \r\n <\/p>\r\nOn his first day in office on January 20, President Biden issued an executive order addressing racial equity and underserved communities<\/a>. Another day one action promised more effective coordination with tribal authorities<\/a> in combating the coronavirus.\r\n <\/p>![\"Video\"](\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/plugins\/content-cards\/skins\/default\/content-cards-placeholder.png\")
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