1. Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025.
41 Facts About Deb Haaland
1. 2.
Deb Haaland is a political progressive who supports the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
3.
On December 17,2020, then-President-elect Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior.
4.
Deb Haaland is running for governor of New Mexico in the 2026 elections.
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Deb Haaland is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo.
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The Pueblo people have lived on the land that is the state of New Mexico since the 1200s and Deb Haaland identifies herself as a 35th-generation New Mexican.
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Deb Haaland's father, Major John David "Dutch" Haaland, a Norwegian Minnesotan, was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and recipient of the Silver Star for his actions in Vietnam; he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in 2005.
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Deb Haaland attended 13 public schools across the United States before the family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be close to family who belong to the Laguna Pueblo.
9.
Deb Haaland graduated from Highland High School in Albuquerque in 1978.
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Deb Haaland has two sisters, a brother, and two half-sisters.
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Deb Haaland struggled with alcoholism during this period, including two arrests for driving under the influence, but has been sober since enrolling in college in 1988.
12.
Deb Haaland earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of New Mexico in 1994.
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Deb Haaland's professors included future United States poet laureate Joy Harjo, who published Haaland's poetry in a 1997 anthology.
14.
Four days after graduation, Deb Haaland gave birth to her child, Somah.
15.
Deb Haaland says she relied on food stamps at times.
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Deb Haaland earned her Juris Doctor in Indian law from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006, but narrowly failed the bar exam later that year.
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Deb Haaland was the first woman to serve on the board of the Laguna Development Corporation, a Laguna-owned business created to strengthen the Laguna Community and its economy.
18.
Deb Haaland was New Mexico's vote director for Native Americans in Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign.
19.
Deb Haaland was the chair of the Native American Caucus of the Democratic Party of New Mexico from 2012 to 2013.
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Deb Haaland ran for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2014.
21.
Deb Haaland's ticket, headed by then-Attorney General of New Mexico Gary King, the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Mexico, lost to the Republican ticket of Governor Susana Martinez and Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez.
22.
Deb Haaland was elected to a two-year term as the chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico in April 2015.
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Deb Haaland has been credited with rebuilding the state party after large defeats for Democrats in New Mexico in 2014.
24.
Deb Haaland raised enough money during her two-year term as chair to pay off seven years' worth of debt incurred under previous chairs.
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Deb Haaland's victory was part of a sweep of New Mexico that saw Democrats win every statewide and federal office on the ballot that year, along with expanding their majority in the New Mexico House of Representatives.
26.
On March 7,2019, during a debate on voting rights and campaign finance, Haaland became the first Native American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.
27.
Deb Haaland served as one of three co-chairs of Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.
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Deb Haaland is the first Native American Cabinet secretary in US history.
29.
Deb Haaland was sworn in on March 18,2021, wearing a combination of traditional Laguna Pueblo regalia and a colorful ribbon skirt, custom-made for her by Agnes Woodward.
30.
Deb Haaland has brought Indigenous traditions to the role, often wearing Native jewelry and decorating her office with Native art.
31.
On her first day as secretary, Deb Haaland met with tribal media in a press conference organized by the department and the Native American Journalists Association, speaking about her intention to include the tribes as decisions that impact them are made.
32.
In May 2021, Deb Haaland approved the new constitution of the Cherokee Nation with protections for Cherokee Freedmen.
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In June 2021, Deb Haaland announced the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.
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Deb Haaland attended a series of Road to Healing events to bring together survivors and their stories.
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In November 2021, Deb Haaland ordered a task force to determine new names for the 650 places on federally owned lands that currently use the word "squaw", a derogatory term for Native American women.
36.
In March 2023, Deb Haaland announced $25 million to be dedicated to bison conservation.
37.
Deb Haaland spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on August 22,2024.
38.
On January 28,2025, Deb Haaland announced that she would run for governor of New Mexico in the 2026 election, seeking to succeed term-limited governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
39.
Deb Haaland kicked off her campaign in Los Alamos to a large audience.
40.
Deb Haaland has a child, Somah, whom she raised as a single mother.
41.
Deb Haaland suffered a broken left fibula on July 17,2022, while hiking in Shenandoah National Park.