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Deb Haaland
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Deb Haaland
Debra Anne Haaland (/ˈhɑːlənd/; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and was chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native American, is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
Haaland's congressional district included most of Albuquerque and most of its suburbs. Along with Sharice Davids, she is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. Congress. She is a political progressive who supports the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
On December 17, 2020, then-president-elect Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior. She was confirmed by the US Senate on March 15, 2021, by a vote of 51–40. Following her swearing-in on March 16, she became the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary and the second to serve in the Cabinet, after Republican former vice president and Kaw Nation citizen Charles Curtis.
Haaland is the Democratic nominee for governor of New Mexico in the 2026 election. She will face Republican nominee Gregg Hull in the November general election.
Haaland was born in Winslow, Arizona. She is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo. The Pueblo people have lived on the land that is now the state of New Mexico since the 1200s and Haaland identifies herself as a 35th-generation New Mexican. Her mother, Mary Toya, a Native American woman, served in the United States Navy and also worked in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Her father, Major John David "Dutch" Haaland, a Norwegian Minnesotan, was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and recipient of the Silver Star for his actions in Vietnam; he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in 2005.
As a child in a military family, Haaland moved frequently. She attended 13 public schools across the United States before the family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be close to family who also belong to the Laguna Pueblo. Haaland graduated from Highland High School in Albuquerque in 1978. She has two sisters, a brother, and two half-sisters.
After high school, Haaland worked at a local bakery. She struggled with alcoholism during this period, including two arrests for driving under the influence, but has been sober since enrolling in college in 1988. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of New Mexico in 1994. Her professors included future United States poet laureate Joy Harjo, who published Haaland's poetry in a 1997 anthology.
Four days after graduation, Haaland gave birth to her child, Somáh. As a single mother, Haaland started a salsa company to support herself and her child. At times during this period, she has said, she did not earn enough money to afford housing and had to rely on friends for shelter. She says she also relied on food stamps at times. Haaland began law school at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2000 before earning her Juris Doctor in Indian law from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006, but narrowly failed the bar exam later that year. While serving as Interior Secretary, Haaland was working on completing a master's degree in American Indian studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Deb Haaland
Debra Anne Haaland (/ˈhɑːlənd/; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and was chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native American, is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe.
Haaland's congressional district included most of Albuquerque and most of its suburbs. Along with Sharice Davids, she is one of the first two Native American women elected to the U.S. Congress. She is a political progressive who supports the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
On December 17, 2020, then-president-elect Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior. She was confirmed by the US Senate on March 15, 2021, by a vote of 51–40. Following her swearing-in on March 16, she became the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary and the second to serve in the Cabinet, after Republican former vice president and Kaw Nation citizen Charles Curtis.
Haaland is the Democratic nominee for governor of New Mexico in the 2026 election. She will face Republican nominee Gregg Hull in the November general election.
Haaland was born in Winslow, Arizona. She is an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo. The Pueblo people have lived on the land that is now the state of New Mexico since the 1200s and Haaland identifies herself as a 35th-generation New Mexican. Her mother, Mary Toya, a Native American woman, served in the United States Navy and also worked in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Her father, Major John David "Dutch" Haaland, a Norwegian Minnesotan, was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and recipient of the Silver Star for his actions in Vietnam; he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in 2005.
As a child in a military family, Haaland moved frequently. She attended 13 public schools across the United States before the family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be close to family who also belong to the Laguna Pueblo. Haaland graduated from Highland High School in Albuquerque in 1978. She has two sisters, a brother, and two half-sisters.
After high school, Haaland worked at a local bakery. She struggled with alcoholism during this period, including two arrests for driving under the influence, but has been sober since enrolling in college in 1988. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of New Mexico in 1994. Her professors included future United States poet laureate Joy Harjo, who published Haaland's poetry in a 1997 anthology.
Four days after graduation, Haaland gave birth to her child, Somáh. As a single mother, Haaland started a salsa company to support herself and her child. At times during this period, she has said, she did not earn enough money to afford housing and had to rely on friends for shelter. She says she also relied on food stamps at times. Haaland began law school at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2000 before earning her Juris Doctor in Indian law from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2006, but narrowly failed the bar exam later that year. While serving as Interior Secretary, Haaland was working on completing a master's degree in American Indian studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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