Deb Haaland Reflects on Historic Tenure as First Native American Cabinet Secretary

Haaland highlights achievements in conservation, tribal sovereignty, and addressing the legacy of Indian boarding schools during her four years as U.S. Interior Secretary.

Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary, emphasized her efforts to balance energy development with conservation, including overseeing record renewable energy projects and protecting over 1 million square miles of land.
She spearheaded the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, uncovering the traumatic history of Indigenous children forcibly placed in boarding schools and producing policy recommendations for healing and reconciliation.
Haaland prioritized elevating tribal sovereignty, establishing a tribal advisory committee, and securing 400 co-stewardship agreements to involve tribes in federal land management decisions.
Her tenure saw the creation of new wildlife refuges, national monuments, and the restoration of protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, reversing prior rollbacks.
As she departs, Haaland expressed hope for the durability of her conservation legacy and renewed calls for clemency for Native American activist Leonard Peltier, imprisoned for nearly 50 years.