**** IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTED TRIBAL LEADER, PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM HERE: http://bit.ly/DebSupportLetter ****


(AFTER PASSAGE IN COMMITTEE, THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT TO SENATE LEADERSHIP. ADDRESSEES WILL BE MODIFIED TO REFLECT THIS.)      
 
Dear Chairman Manchin, Ranking Member Barrasso, and Members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:
 
As elected leaders of sovereign tribal nations across the United States, we write in support of the confirmation of Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Rep. Haaland is a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, a 35th-generation New Mexican, and one of the first Native women to serve in the House of Representatives. She is immensely qualified to serve our country as the 54th Secretary of the Interior.
 
The United States must uphold its responsibility to tribal nations, honor its treaties, and provide a voice for Indian Country in the federal government. It is with this responsibility in mind and with tremendous enthusiasm that we urge you to swiftly consider and confirm President Joseph R. Biden’s nomination of Rep. Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior.
 
The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) carries out a broad range of responsibilities, including the management of public lands, water resources, minerals, wildlife management, and cultural heritage preservation. Additionally, it is charged and entrusted with upholding the federal trust and treaty responsibilities to the 574 tribal nations and more than 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. The day-to-day decisions of Interior impact all aspects of tribal sovereignty and self-governance, from education to economic development to law enforcement. As a result of these unique fiduciary and trust obligation to tribal nations, it is time that the ranks of Interior’s leaders finally include a voice from the community whose day-to-day lives it impacts most.
 
In the 116th Congress, Rep. Haaland introduced more bills with bipartisan co-sponsorship than any other freshman legislator in 2019. Additionally, she served as Co-Chair of the House Native American Caucus; Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources; Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest, and Public Lands; and as a member of the Indigenous Peoples Subcommittee and the House Armed Services Committee. Her House leadership in shepherding a bipartisan public lands package in 2019 and the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 illustrates her commitment to the stewardship of the nation’s resources and directly correlates with the duties and responsibilities of the Secretary of Interior.
 
As a Westerner, Rep. Haaland spent a great deal of time with families in tribal, rural, agricultural, and ranching communities. As such, she understands their diverse social, economic, and cultural needs. Rep. Haaland has also been a proponent of energy production and related job development to support sustainable economies and advance our nation’s resource independence. Rep. Haaland cares about every job and understands deeply the concerns that too many families have about putting food on their tables.
 
For tribal communities, Rep. Haaland has been a champion for public safety and justice. For example, she played an instrumental role in the passage of Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act of 2019. The latter bill was the first to be sponsored by four Native members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) by bringing together law enforcement, tribal leaders, federal partners, and survivors. Also, in her role as Co-Chair of the House Native American Caucus, Rep. Haaland helped ensure tribal inclusion in COVID-19 emergency relief legislation in a nonpartisan manner.
 
We are confident in Rep. Haaland’s ability to serve the diverse needs both inside and outside of Indian Country.
 
In conclusion, we ask you to support the confirmation of Rep. Haaland as Secretary of Interior. She has extensive experience, exemplary qualifications, and a demonstrated commitment to public service. Rep. Haaland’s record of legislative successes showcases that she will continue to bring pragmatism and bipartisanship to the performance of her responsibilities as Interior Secretary. As a Native woman, Rep. Haaland descends from people who have hunted, farmed, managed, and cared for our nation’s lands since time immemorial. She understands deeply that these landscapes are multipurpose and integral to sustaining many communities, economies, and cultures.
 
It is our honor to support Rep. Haaland in this historic role, and we ask for her swift consideration and confirmation as Interior Secretary.
 
 
Sincerely,
XXXX

***Signing this form means you consent to your name being published publicly in support of Cong. Deb Haaland's nomination.****