Another option for vice president: Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland

Native Vote 2024. Within 36 hours of intensifying after President Joe Biden Withdrew from the presidential race last Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee. Harris is now tasked with choosing a running mate who can serve as vice president. Some natives think that the Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) should be added to the list.

US presidential candidates are often judged by who they choose as their running mates because this allows American voters insight into their decision-making process even before they are elected. Fortunately for Vice President Harris, prospects are plentiful because the Democrats appear to have a good bench of future presidential candidates.

Currently, the list of potential running mates includes: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. , Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, Governor of Minnesota, Governor of Minnesota. Tim Walzand US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Buttigieg is the only current member of the presidential cabinet appointed by the media.

In 2020, Biden named Haaland secretary of the US Department of the Interior. When she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she became the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet to hold a secretary position. When Biden announced her name, Indian Country praised the nomination.

Since taking office, Haaland has headed a federal department that employs about 70,000 people, including specialized scientists and resource management professionals, in eleven technical offices that include the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Interior’s current budget for fiscal year 2024 was $89.08 billion. The President’s fiscal year 2025 budget request for Indian affairs programs is $4.6 billion.

Haaland established the Missing and murdered unit with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to address the epidemic of missing and murdered Natives. Furthermore, she established the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative investigate the history of American Indian boarding schools, as well as do the “Path to Healing” Tour tribal nations hearing from boarding school survivors and descendants.

In 2023, Secretary Haaland oversaw the largest-ever increase in public lands co-administration agreements with tribes across the country, growing from 20 to 200. Additionally, the Department protected more than 12.5 million acres of public lands as national monuments, mineral withdrawals, wildlife refuges and more. Combined, all of these areas would be approximately the size of Virginia.

The actions above are just a fraction of what Haaland accomplished during her time as Secretary of the Interior. Now, Indian Country is excited to see what could be next for Haaland.

On Tuesday, while attending the 2924 Native Energy Building Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, Minnesota, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) said Native News Online that Haaland served the country well in her role as Interior Secretary.

“I feel like Deb Haaland’s future is very bright no matter what she’s called upon to do,” Flanagan said. “Being vice president would be a dream come true.”

Holly Macaro (Red Lake Ojibwe), director of The Angle, a political and government affairs consulting firm, commented Tuesday on the possibility of Haaland being added to the short list of possible vice presidential candidates.

“The vice presidential contest will be the hottest topic in the coming days – and there are several ways it can impact Indian Country: Deb Haaland’s addition to the list would be historic and not beyond imagination,” Macarro said. “She is a proven leader, a valuable asset in the Biden administration’s climate agenda, and the powerful voice behind historic investments in Indian Country.

In another potentially historic move, if Governor Walz is selected as Vice President and elected in November, this would elevate Lt. Governor Flanagan to Governor of Minnesota; She would be the first Native American to govern a state.

An important consideration in Vice President Harris’ selection of a running mate is which candidate, who aligns with her governing ideologies, would obtain the highest number of electoral college votes. She will consider who among the shortlisted candidates can help deliver a victory in swing states.

Haaland’s argument is her potential to win over key states, most of which fall within Indian Country. In swing states – or swing states – like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin, the native vote could influence the direction of the election. That’s just if Natives go to the polls.

There are predicted to be at least 5 million Native and Alaska Native-identifying voters in the U.S. according to to the US Census Bureau – although these estimates are expected to be an undercount.

“Native Americans are incredibly influential and have the ability to really influence these elections at the margins,” said Jacqueline De León, senior attorney at the Native American Rights Fund originally for OPBadding that she sees potential for Native voters to decide elections where the Native American population is greater than the voting differences that decide those races.

Levi Rickert contributed to this article from Scottsdale, Arizona.

If Haaland is selected and elected as Harris’ running mate, she would not be the first Native American to serve as Vice President of the United States. Vice President Charles Curtis, a descendant of Chief Kaw White Plume and Chief Osage Pawhuska, was President Herbert Hoover’s running mate in 1929. Curtis served in the U.S. Senate from 1906 to 1929. From 1924 until he became Vice President in 1929, he was the Senate Majority Leader.

About the author: “Neely Bardwell (descendant of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indian) is a reporter for Native News Online. Bardwell is also a student at Michigan State University, where she is majoring in politics and minoring in Native American studies.”

Contact: neely@nativenewsonline.net