Native American politician Deb Haaland
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People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants. 

Deb Haaland is a Native American politician. In 2018, she was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from New Mexico. In 2020, President-elect Joe Biden nominated Haaland as the first Native American secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Debra Anne Haaland was born Dec. 2, 1960, in Winslow, Arizona. She is of Pueblo ancestry and is an enrolled citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna. Her parents both served in the military, and the family moved frequently when she was growing up. In 1994, she graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in English. She then started a business making and canning salsa. She earned a J.D. degree from the university’s law school in 2006.

Haaland began her political career as a campaign volunteer for Democratic Party candidates, working to increase voter turnout among Native Americans. She worked as a tribal administrator for the San Felipe Pueblo people from 2013 to 2015. In 2014, she ran for lieutenant governor of New Mexico but was not elected. She served as chair of New Mexico’s Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017.