The Honorable Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna citizen) is the first American Indian to serve as a Cabinet Secretary in a presidential administration. The only American Indian ever to serve in a higher governmental position was Vice President Charles Curtis, a Kaw citizen, who served from 1929 to 1933. As Department of the Interior Secretary from 2021 to 2025, Haaland oversaw the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, the Office of the Special Trustee, and the Bureau of Land Management. She managed 500 million acres of public lands along with federal wildlife programs, national parks and monuments.
Deb Haaland is an American hero. When she became Secretary of the Department of the Interior, she created the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and, with tenacity, investigated long-standing abuse in the residential boarding schools endured by American Indian children. Haaland’s grandparents had been sent to the boarding schools. This expansive work had not been done before. In addition, she continued the work for missing and murdered Indigenous persons, banned the use of the derogatory word “squaw” on federal land, and dedicated funds for bison conservation.
Haaland’s service as Secretary fulfilled all the responsibilities of the position and put national focus on American Indian issues that needed attention. For that, all American Indian people are grateful. Through four years of tenacity, Haaland righted many wrongs and “made a significant contribution to our heritage, traditions, and set of values.” For her service to the U.S. and all Americans, Deb Haaland deserves and is receiving a star on the Texas Trail of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.