Interior Secretary Haaland's Introductory Message

The Biden-Harris Cabinet will be historic...including today's long-overdue appointment of the first Native American Cabinet Secretary.

Hi, I’m Deb Haaland.
 
It’s my first day on the job at the Department of the Interior and though I wish I was surrounded by many of you at the Stewart Lee Udall Building here in Washington, D.C. or in the regional offices across the country, I know that the pandemic will keep us apart for a while longer.
Still, I wanted to send a quick message to tell you that I’m so excited to be a part of this amazing team.
 
My mom served as a federal employee at the Bureau of Indian Affairs for 25 years.
I saw her get up every day to do a job that she was proud of.
She worked hard, sometimes without recognition, but she knew that what she was doing made a difference for the communities she served.
I am thinking of her today, and of the Pueblo community that raised me, as I proudly join all of you who have dedicated your careers to federal service.
 
It’s going to take all of us to build back better and leave a livable planet for future generations.
We have a lot of work ahead.
But I believe that working together, we can tackle the overlapping crises our country faces by creating new jobs in a clean energy economy; addressing racial inequity; honoring our government to government relationships with Tribal Nations; combatting a global pandemic; and taking the climate crisis seriously.
 
I know that the changes we seek will not happen overnight and will take hard work and perseverance.
But I know that we can do this – together.