'Hit the ground running': Secretary Haaland engages with Native media on first day in office

Mar 18, 20210

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History Again: Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, left, talks with Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) at Department of the Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Haaland's first day in office on March 17, 2021. Haaland and Davids were the first two women elected to the U.S. Congress. Photo: U.S. Department of the Interior

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary Deb Haaland is making history in more ways than one, as the first Native person to lead the Department of the Interior and the first Native person to serve in a presidential cabinet.

On her first day in office on Wednesday, Haaland held her first engagement with the news media. In doing so, she chose to speak first with Native reporters, something that hasn't occurred in recent history with any high-ranking government official of any administration.

The call, which took place on the record, was arranged by communications staff at Interior and the Native American Journalists Association. Haaland spoke with Native reporters following an address to fellow employees at Interior, the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country.

https://www.indianz.com/News/2021/03/17/hit-the-ground-running-secretary-haaland-engages-with-native-media-on-first-day-in-office/