Democrat Deb Haaland will address climate change issues and mediate relationship with tribes
Photo: LEIGH VOGEL / POOL / AFP / Getty Images
For: EFE
Thursday, November 14
Deb Haaland, the first Native American woman to take office as the US Secretary of the Interior.
The Senate from the United States confirmed as new Secretary of the Interior of the Government of Joe Biden to the so far Congresswoman Deb Haaland, thus making her the first indigenous person to assume a ministerial position.
The Upper House confirmed Haaland with 51 votes in favor and 40 against.
As new Secretary of the Interior, Haaland will be in charge of managing federal lands, many of them occupied by the United States Government to the indigenous tribes during the expansion towards the West.
In celebrating your confirmation, the leader of the Democratic majority in the Upper House, Chuck Schumer, recalled the “long and troubled relationship between the federal government and Native tribes.”
“For too long, indigenous tribes have been denied a seat at the table where decisions that affected their lives were made and their lands ”, assured the democrat.
Halland is attached to the Laguna Pueblo of New Mexico and according to The Washington Post, is a member from a family with at least 40 generations in that territory.
In addition to the administration of federal lands, in Interior also will be at the forefront of the exploitation of fossil fuels in those territories and the management of more than 500 indigenous tribes that exist in the country and your reservations.
Haaland opposes to expand the exploitation of fossil fuels on federal lands and supports a drastic reduction of emissions in combat to the climate crisis, which made the majority of Republicans vote against his confirmation on Monday.
In fact, in 2016, the new Home Secretary camped out in a tense protest against the Dakota Access pipeline, supported by the then Government of Barack Obama, who led the Standing Rock Sioux indigenous tribe.
The appointment of Haaland, which since 2016 represented New Mexico in Congress, was welcomed by the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. It is expected that the new secretary sworn in office today Tuesday.
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