{"id":9578,"date":"2021-03-30T12:11:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T16:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=9578"},"modified":"2021-03-30T12:12:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T16:12:29","slug":"albert-bender-deb-haaland-makes-history-in-nations-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/03\/30\/albert-bender-deb-haaland-makes-history-in-nations-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Albert Bender: Deb Haaland makes history in nation&#8217;s capital"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Awo6-K4fpM8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Video: <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/03\/19\/history-is-being-made-yet-again-secretary-of-the-interior-deb-haaland\/>\u2018History is being made, yet again\u2019: Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Interior Secretary Haaland already taking giant steps forward for Native America<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, March 30, 2021<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Albert Bender<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">People's World<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/www.peoplesworld.org\/\">peoplesworld.org<\/A><\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe confirmation on March 15, and the swearing in ceremony on March 18, of dauntless Native American standard-bearer Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) is truly historic for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which is that historically the DOI functioned as an arm of outright genocide in its early days.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nIn his 1851 Report of the Interior, the then-Secretary of the DOI Alexander H.H. Stuart wrote in reference to the future of Native people: \u201cThe only alternatives left are to civilize or exterminate.\u201d Surely, Stuart must be, to use an old expression, \u201cturning over in his grave\u201d right now\u2014and well he should. Native America has not only survived but has triumphed over his racist, genocidal objectives, which reflected the capitalist ideology of \u201cManifest Destiny.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHaaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe in New Mexico with an abundance of accomplishments, is in a position to roll back decades of defrauding, control, and iniquity perpetrated by DOI.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nShe has a Juris Doctor in Indian Law from the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Law and, together with Sharice Davids of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is one of the first two Indigenous women elected to the U.S. Congress. Also, the Indian Law program of the UNM is considered one of the most prestigious in the country.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today I was honored to join the first of three Tribal consultations <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Interior?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Interior<\/a> is hosting on funding from the American Rescue Plan. Not only will these funds help weather this storm, they will also address the long standing issues that put Native communities so far behind. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hyd2SlGU4O\">pic.twitter.com\/Hyd2SlGU4O<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecDebHaaland\/status\/1375187514768654336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 25, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nLaguna Pueblo, from which she hails, is a tribal nation with origins stretching back thousands of years. Located 45 miles west of Albuquerque, it consists of over 7,000 members. In the mid-1980s this writer spent quite a bit of time at Laguna with friends in the village of Seama while working as an attorney on the Zuni Reservation.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAt her confirmation hearing, Haaland reflectively noted with eloquence and reverence the historical fact that the U.S. Capitol sits on the ancient homelands of three Native Tribes\u2014the Piscataway, Nacotchtank, and Anacostan. This of course brings to mind that all of the United States is Indigenous land\u2014indeed \u201cStolen Land\u201d\u2014and as one tribal representative put it, \u201chow the U.S. got started\u201d remains \u201cthe elephant in the room.\u201d Of the Tribes mentioned by Haaland, only the Piscataway still exists as a tribal entity.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHer statements reminded this writer of signs at Indigenous-sponsored protests supporting immigrant rights that read, \u201cNo one is illegal on stolen land.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nFurther, it must be noted that at the hearings, Haaland wore Indigenous dress which sent an empowering political message to Native people, in particular to Indigenous women. This also emphasized that the Indigenous are separate peoples with a nation-to-nation relationship with the federal government that must be maintained and strengthened. The DOI is tasked to uphold the federal government\u2019s sacred treaty obligations with 574 tribal nations.\r\n<P><\/P><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nIn the course of her confirmation hearings, which began in February, Haaland spoke in Keresan, the tribal language of Laguna Pueblo. This pointed out the importance of Indigenous languages and immersion language programs initiated by many tribal nations. There are currently 150 Native tongues still spoken in the U.S. Historically, the federal government has spent more money purposely eliminating Native languages than saving them. This was also another function of the DOI.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nOthers in the Native community mused that Haadland\u2019s position \u201cgives her the power to right some very deep wrongs done to Native tribes.\u201d Immediate concerns are the need for more land, assistance for tribal economies, and an easier process to petition for federal recognition, and, of course, the matter of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHaaland led the way with other Indigenous representatives\u2014Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk Nation), Tom Cole (Chickasaw Nation), and Markkwayne Mullin (Cherokee Nation)\u2014in passing legislation for MMIW in September of last year.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nIn reference to righting \u201csome very deep wrongs,\u201d there is still the issue of the defrauding of billions of dollars from Indian landowners in the Cobell v. Salazar case to the tune of, by very credible estimates, $179 billion by the DOI. This was pared down and settled by the Obama administration for the disgraceful, comparatively paltry sum of $ 3.4 billion, with $1.4 billion of that spread out to 490,000 individual Indians, in the form of checks ranging from $500 to $1,500\u2014not even enough to buy a decent automobile. This fraud on Native landowners was for DOI oil, timber, and grazing contracts dating from 1887. This was the record of the DOI with the Indigenous and the continuing fraud in the disgraceful settlement orchestrated by Obama.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">During a visit to her father\u2019s grave at Arlington National Cemetery today, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecDebHaaland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SecDebHaaland<\/a> paid her respects to the servicewomen laid to rest on these hallowed grounds. This <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WomensHistoryMonth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#WomensHistoryMonth<\/a> we honor history both past and present. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0gW4ilpF7w\">pic.twitter.com\/0gW4ilpF7w<\/a><\/p>&mdash; US Department of the Interior (@Interior) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Interior\/status\/1373008694833729543?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThere are many roadblocks for Haaland to surmount on the path to continued progress. There will be those in government who will attempt to engage in open and behind-the-scenes obstruction. Several years ago, a friend of mine from the Ho-Chunk Nation recounted how he tried to communicate with his tribal representative and was taken aback when told he would have to go through an FBI security clearance to make contact.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nMeanwhile, the new \u201cfierce\u201d warrior Cabinet Secretary certainly hit the ground running with a decision, just a few days after her swearing-in ceremony, withdrawing a Trump administration opinion that held the section of the Missouri River flowing through the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation\u2014the land of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation\u2014belonged to the state of North Dakota. For decades, legal precedent held that the Missouri riverbed belonged to the MHA Nation.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe reversal of the Andrew Jacksonian-type Trump decision which gave North Dakota ownership of mineral rights under that portion of the Missouri River flowing through the Fort Berthold Reservation was a clear and outrageous violation of tribal sovereignty that the Biden administration has vowed to uphold.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe Department of Interior under Haaland is getting off to a great start by sending a signal salvo in the 500-year-old Indigenous struggle for justice. Haaland has her work cut out for her, but she has the confidence of Indian Country and our unwavering, steadfast support. Further, we must be mindful that what is good for Native America is good for all of America.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<HR>\r\n<EM>Albert Bender is a Cherokee activist, historian, political columnist, and \r\nfreelance reporter for Native and Non-Native publications. He was an organizer \r\nand delegate to the First and Second Intercontinental Indian Conferences held in \r\nQuito, Ecuador and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Recently, he has been an active \r\nparticipant and reporter in the Standing Rock struggle in North Dakota. He is an \r\nattorney and is currently writing a legal treatise on Native American \r\nsovereignty. He is also writing a book on the war crimes committed by the U.S. \r\nagainst the Maya people in the Guatemalan civil war of the late 20th century. He \r\nis also the recipient of several Eagle Awards by the Tennessee Native American \r\nEagle Organization and a former Director of Native American Legal Departments \r\nand a Tribal Public Defender.<\/EM> \r\n<HR>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThis article originally appeared on <A \r\nhref=https:\/\/www.peoplesworld.org\/article\/interior-secretary-haaland-already-taking-giant-steps-forward-for-native-america\/>People&#8217;s \r\nWorld<\/A>. It is published under a <A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/3.0\/us\/\">Creative \r\nCommons license<\/A>. \r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/30\/debhaaland.jpg\" alt=\"debhaaland\" class=\"invisible\" height=\"0\" width=\"0\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Department of the Interior under Secretary Deb Haaland is getting off to a great start.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,9,14],"tags":[415,1018,346,88,118,176,963,167,416,182,44],"class_list":["post-9578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-trust","category-opinion","category-politics","tag-albert-bender","tag-andrew-jackson","tag-dc","tag-deb-haaland","tag-doi","tag-genocide","tag-mha-nation","tag-new-mexico","tag-peoples-world","tag-pueblo","tag-women","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/30\/debhaaland.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2uu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}