President-elect Donald Trump has some 4,000 appointments to make amid his White House return, including the heads of 15 executive departments that shall form his Cabinet. Replacing the first Native American Cabinet member is among them.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who was born in Winslow, Arizona, and is a member from the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, made history under the Biden administration.
“She’s the first, but clearly not the last Native American Cabinet secretary,” President Joe Biden said before the election at the Gila River Indian Community, “and her historic and dedicated leadership to strengthen the relationship between the Tribal nations and the federal government is unlike anything ever happened before.”
Biden made more than 80 Native appointees during the last four years, breaking barriers for Indian Country. He also tapped Chief Lynn Malerba of the Mohegan Tribe to become the first Indigenous treasurer of the United States.
Haaland thanked him for the opportunity.
“Tribal consultation has been a priority. Federal investment has been a priority. Co-stewardship of some of our cherished public lands has been a priority,” Haaland told KJZZ News. “It’s been a true honor for me to serve a president and a vice president who care so deeply about every Native community in this country.”
But now, that could all change under a second Trump term.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy have been floated as possible names for the next Interior secretary.
None of them are Native.
The last time Trump made this consequential pick for the nation’s public lands, natural resources and tribes, he chose former oil lobbyist David Bernhardt to succeed Montana Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke, who resigned in 2018 and was later found to have misused his Cabinet position by not complying with ethics obligations.
-
Monday marks the last time President Joe Biden will host leaders from across Indian Country at the White House for the Tribal Nations Summit. Then-President Barack Obama began this annual tradition in 2009. -
As President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team prep to regain the White House, critics are concerned about how they’ll handle water conservation in the West. But a key Arizona tribal ally of President Joe Biden believes the next administration is ready for the task. -
Inside a cramped room at a Las Vegas resort, leaders from five federally recognized Southwestern tribes came together during the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference. -
More than a century ago, the Gila River was lush and full of life. And the people who farmed around it, the Akimel O’odham people, were thriving. But settlers moved in, laws changed and they lost the water on the river — and their livelihoods with it. -
Lighting the Arizona Capitol Christmas tree has been a longstanding tradition. Last year, for the first time ever, an Arizona tribe gifted the state a tree for the occasion. With each passing holiday season, it’s becoming more commonplace.
