From energy development on public lands and securing water resources amid ongoing drought to making good on the nation’s promises to Native Americans, Haaland vowed to take a balanced approach .

Deb Haaland, the country's first indigenous cabinet secretary, used her term at the Interior Department to make what activists say is irreversible impact in recognizing the painful history of the gove

Her service is marked by a focus on work in Indigenous communities and a search for balance between conservation and extraction on public lands.

In the final days before she departs, Deb Haaland has found time to reflect on her journey from the back roads of New Mexico to a sprawling

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Haaland brought with her many other Indigenous people who served as her senior advisors, communications specialists, and across the Interior’s various offices — including the first Indigenous person to lead the National Park Service.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is serving out her final days in office. President Joe Biden made history by appointing her as the first Native American in a cabinet position. “The first couple days I got here,

It was the summer of 2023 and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was hiking the Bright Angel Trail, the most popular path at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Later that day she would join President Joe Biden as he signed a proclamation establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument that would bring nearly one million acres under federal protection.