CHICAGO, Illinois, August 22, 2024 (ENS) – Deb Haaland brought Indigeneity front and center at the Democratic National Convention on its final night in a speech that presented the case for environmental protections.
“Gu’wha’tzi,” Haaland said in the Keres language spoken by tribes in New Mexico, including Laguna Pueblo where she is from.
After the traditional introduction that asked the DNC delegation how it is doing, she introduced herself by her Keres name that she translated in English to “Crushed Turquoise,” and announced her Turquoise Clan, the direct lineage to her family in Laguna.
Then she went to a family story that explained the origin of her passion for the environment.
“My ancestors built lives in the high deserts of New Mexico,” Haaland said. “I am on this stage tonight because of them. While fishing with my dad and running through the desert with my cousins, I learned that we have a responsibility to take care of our planet.”
From those early days, Haaland has emerged as the first Native American Secretary of the Interior, appointed in 2021 by President Joe Biden. From 2019 to 2021, she served as the U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s 1st congressional district, which takes in the city of Albuquerque, and she chaired the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017.
As Secretary of the Interior, Haaland is responsible for managing the nation’s public lands and minerals, national parks, and wildlife refuges, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which handles Federal trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and Native Alaskans.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs manages Indian health care, education, and the foundational support for the sovereignty of Native American people under the Indian Trusts Act passed in 1882.
Additionally, Interior is responsible for endangered species conservation and other environmental efforts. “We all have a role in protecting our future generations,” Secretary Haaland told the enthusiastic DNC delegates in Chicago and the millions of potential voters watching on television Thursday night.
Haaland promised, “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will fight for a future where we all have clean air, clean water and healthy communities.”
“An American president must lead the world in tackling climate change, we need a president who understands that assignment,” Secretary Haaland declared. “Let me go back to the lesson I learned in the desert southwest: we all have a role in protecting our Earth for future generations, so let’s all be fierce and let’s make Kamala Harris the next President of the United States.”
Harris: Americans Should Live Free From Pollution
Vice President Kamala Harris topped off the night with a rousing speech in acceptance of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
Harris mentioned the environment and climate change just once, but described these concerns as “fundamental freedoms” along with reproductive freedom, the freedom to live safe from gun violence, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, and, she declared, “The freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others. The freedom to vote.” ###
Shaun Griswold of Source New Mexico contributed reporting and the headline.
Featured image: Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland of Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico addresses the Democratic National Convention, August 22, 2024, Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Andi Murphy / Native America Calling)
