Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior.
32 Facts About Deb Haaland
2.
Deb Haaland is a political progressive who supports the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
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On December 17,2020, then President-elect Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior.
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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.
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Deb Haaland has two sisters, a brother, and two half-sisters.
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Deb Haaland's professors included future United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.
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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 is not a member of the New Mexico State Bar.
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Deb Haaland became the first chairwoman elected to the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, a Laguna-owned business created to strengthen the Laguna Community and its economy.
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Deb Haaland served as the tribal administrator for the San Felipe Pueblo from January 2013 to November 2015.
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In 2012, Deb Haaland served as the state's vote director for Native Americans in Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign.
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Deb Haaland served as the chair of Democratic Party of New Mexico Native American Caucus from 2012 to 2013.
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Deb Haaland ran for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in 2014.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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In November 2021, Deb Haaland banned the word "squaw", a derogatory term for Native American women, from all federally owned lands, and ordered a task force to determine new names for the 650 places that currently use the word.
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In March 2023, Deb Haaland announced $25 million to be dedicated to bison conservation.
31.
Deb Haaland has a child, Somah, whom she raised as a single mother.
32.
Deb Haaland suffered a broken left fibula on July 17,2022, while hiking in Shenandoah National Park.