Nightly Nuance - January 18, 2021

Hello, my friends. There's a lot going on in the world, but let's getting back to better knowing our incoming administration by talking about Representative and Secretary of the Interior nominee Deb Haaland.

The Department of the Interior is massive. As Secretary, Haaland will oversee 12 agencies, 70,000 employees, a $12.6 billion budget, and 20% of America's land. 

Haaland's heritage, life experiences, and political experiences will bring a fresh and needed perspective to the Interior Department. She went to college at age 28, earned a law degree, started a salsa company to support herself and her daughter as a single mother, and has been "close to pain"-- a phrase she borrows from Rep. Ayanna Pressley. Haaland speaks openly about her use of food stamps, her experience with housing instability, and the student loans she's still paying off. 

A Minnesota Republican, Rep. Pete Stauber, is trying to derail Haaland's nomination because of her support for the Green New Deal (she was a co-sponsor) and her opposition to drilling on federal lands. The tribal nations in his district are very, very displeased with him for failing to acknowledge the importance of her nomination to Indigenous Americans. 

Haaland will face a number of challenges. She is far more progressive than President-elect Biden, and it's been reported that she was not his first choice for this position. The Department of the Interior's history is riddled with colonialism, and she is being asked to be fierce (her word) not only in her advocacy for Native tribes but also for the Freedman -- the descendants of enslaved African people brought to reservations by Native Americans. 

Haaland is aware of the challenges and the historic nature of her nomination. She has said: "This moment is profound when we consider the fact that a former secretary of the interior once proclaimed it his goal to, quote, 'civilize or exterminate' us." She is cognizant of her past and excited about the future. 

And I feel hopeful about her nomination because it seems to indicated that the Biden administration will confront our challenges with resolve and urgency, looking forward and reckoning with the past. 

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