{"id":14204,"date":"2021-03-19T07:11:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T12:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/its-official\/"},"modified":"2021-03-19T07:11:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T12:11:07","slug":"its-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/its-official\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s official"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Dakota\u2019s senators voted against Interior Department Secretary Debra Haaland<\/strong>, despite tribal leader\u2019s requests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C \u2013 On March 15, the U.S. Senate confirmed Laguna Pueblo Rep. Debra Haaland, D-N.M., as the first Native woman to hold a Cabinet post, making her the Secretary of the Interior by a narrow 51-40 vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe history-making nomination \u2026 is a huge step forward, and now it creates a government that more embodies the full richness and diversity of this country,\u201d Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said immediately following the vote.<\/p>\n

Her post requires she supervise federal trust and treaty responsibilities for 574 tribal nations with more than 5.2 million American Indian and Alaska Native people, as well as the nation\u2019s wildlife, more than 480 million surface acres \u2014 nearly one-fifth of the land area of the United States, 700 million acres of subsurface minerals, and 2.5 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to the U.S. Senate for your confirmation vote today,\u201d Haaland tweeted shortly afterward. \u201cAs Secretary of Interior, I look forward to collaborating with all of you. I am ready to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before Haaland had a chance to respond to the vote, Native constituents began dishing up jubilance and petroleum industry stalwarts started sending stern warnings her way.<\/p>\n

Calling it \u201ca watershed moment for Indian country, the National Congress of American Indians, congratulated Haaland. \u201cThe relationship between tribal nations and the federal government has been fractured for far too long,\u201d NCAI President Fawn Sharp said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving an ally like Secretary Haaland, who is not only deeply qualified but is from our communities, has the potential to transform the government-to-government relationship and will be vital in advancing Native American issues for generations,\u201d Sharp remarked.<\/p>\n

Oglala Sioux Tribal President Kevin Killer\u2019s office responded: \u201cMadam Secretary, you have made history by becoming the first Native American to head the Interior. We look forward to working with you, and you have full support from the Oglala Sioux Tribe and President Kevin Killer. They have doubted our ability to lead, and you have proven them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chair Harold Frazier marked the moment with a reflection, saying \u201cMany people do not know that the responsibility of dealing with tribal nations was a duty of the War Department. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was then transferred to the Department of Interior, and we would continue to struggle with poor government policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a pivotal moment to have a true Native American in such a high government position,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

Their tribal nations are the largest of nine in South Dakota, whose senators, John Thune and Mike Rounds, both Republicans, voted against Haaland\u2019s confirmation, citing fears over her efficiency in carrying out Biden\u2019s energy policy directives and doubts about her interpretation of tribal governance.<\/p>\n

Oglala Sioux Tribal President Kevin Killer specifically asked both senators to support the nomination, according to news service reports.<\/p>\n

Congratulating Haaland on behalf of its 600 member companies, which produce, process, and distribute the majority of U.S. gas and oil was the American Petroleum Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary Haaland\u2019s first priority should be to lift the federal leasing pause, which is creating significant uncertainty and undermining our nation\u2019s energy security, economic growth and environmental progress,\u201d said the institute\u2019s President and CEO Mike Sommers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a shared goal for a low-carbon future, but this is the wrong approach and will only lead to more foreign energy imports from countries hostile to American interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

U.S. President Joe Biden picked Haaland for the post even before his inauguration to help his Administration carry out a job building carbon reduction plan that he would soon declare in an executive order called \u201cTackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

It calls for finding ways to double renewable energy production by 2030 and temporarily halting new leases of public lands for oil or gas fracking, pending a review of Interior\u2019s current leases.<\/p>\n

In confirmation hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Haaland swayed lawmakers in her favor on these concerns, assuring them that she would carry out Biden\u2019s bidding through a policy of \u201cinnovation, not elimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaskan Republican Congressman Don Young, the longest-serving member of Congress in history, introduced Haaland at the committee hearings, testifying to her willingness to work with him across the aisle on important issues.<\/p>\n

The committee voted11-9 to recommend her nomination to the full Senate, based on two days of hearings in February.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., secured her approval date, taking the Senate floor March 11 to say that \u201c230 years after (President George) Washington called his first Cabinet meeting, it is long past time to give a Native American woman a seat at the Cabinet table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manchin, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called for the definitive vote following his committee\u2019s 11-9 recommendation to the Senate, based on two days of hearings in February.<\/p>\n

Haaland thanked the committee for its confidence, saying, \u201cI believe we all have a stake in the future of our country, and I believe that every one of us shares a common bond: our love for the outdoors and a desire and obligation to keep our nation livable for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaska Native constituents were instrumental in securing their Congressional delegation\u2019s key endorsement of Haaland.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe would make long-overdue history as the first Indigenous Cabinet secretary and we have weighed in with our Alaska senators to encourage their support for her nomination,\u201d about 400 Native women said in an open letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer confirmation would mean that our children, especially our daughters, nieces, and granddaughters will see someone who looks like them leading alongside the President of the United States, and they will know that no dream is off-limits to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alaskan Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Don Sullivan both voted in favor of advancing the Senate confirmation, although they have looked askance at Haaland\u2019 s opposition to energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n

Alaskan Republican Congressman Don Young, the longest-serving member of Congress in history, introduced Haaland at the committee hearings, testifying to her willingness to work with him on important issues.<\/p>\n

Every member of the committee questioned her.\u00a0 Most asked her two rounds of questions, and some asked three rounds. Then the committee as a whole asked her nearly 300 questions, many with multiple subparts.<\/p>\n

The questions challenged her sharply on beliefs, opinions, the President\u2019s policies, and what she will do if confirmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I may not personally agree with some of Congresswoman Haaland\u2019s past statements and policy positions, as Secretary, she will be carrying out President Biden\u2019s agenda\u2014the agenda that the voters elected President Biden to pursue,\u201d Manchin told the Senate.<\/p>\n

Haaland said the Administration recognizes the country\u2019s dependence on fossil fuels will remain for years to come, and a transition to a cleaner energy future must come through \u201cinnovation, not elimination.\u201d She also affirmed her commitment to bipartisanship.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe understands the need to work across the aisle to find the bipartisan solutions needed to address the diverse needs of our country and has demonstrated that she can do so effectively,\u201d Manchin resolved.<\/p>\n

He noted her presence at the Cabinet level is crucial for the unprecedented political moment now after a deadly armed domestic assault on Congress Jan. 6 nearly deprived the country of election results.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Biden is in perhaps the most difficult position a modern-day President has been in, bringing us back from the brink after Jan. 6,\u201d Manchin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat day changed me, and I feel strongly that with the deep divisions running through our country and the halls of Congress today, we have to have people who have demonstrated they have the temperament and the willingness to reach across the aisle.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongresswoman Haaland has demonstrated that she does and will,\u201d he told fellow senators.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the President works to bind together a nation split by deep political, racial, social, and economic divisions, he is also trying to assemble a Cabinet that reflects the rich diversity of our nation\u2014one that looks like America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Haaland\u2019s nomination was heavily influenced by grassroots Native lobbying.<\/p>\n

The non-profit Advance Native Political Leadership noted, \u201cWe are proud to have worked in coalition with our friends at IllumiNative, Native Organizers Alliance, Data for Progress, National Congress of American Indians, NDN Collective, Protect the Sacred, and many more Native leaders and organizations across the country for this historic and long overdue appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnesota Indian Women\u2019s Resource Center noted that \u201cthe Department of the Interior has been used as a tool of oppression against the original people of this land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Western Native Voice said, \u201cRep. Haaland will bring about a new day at the Department of the Interior with grace, humility, and expertise, fighting to ensure the voices of tribes and local communities are heard in conversations about our public lands \u2014 not just those of oil and gas CEOs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.net<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The post It’s official<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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South Dakota\u2019s senators voted against Interior Department Secretary Debra Haaland, despite tribal leader\u2019s requests. WASHINGTON, D.C \u2013 On March 15, the U.S. Senate confirmed Laguna Pueblo Rep. Debra Haaland, D-N.M., as the first Native woman to hold a Cabinet post, making her the Secretary of the Interior by a narrow <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> March 19, 2021<\/p>\n

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