For once, in this story, the Indians are not massacred, unlike those westerns that shape the American imagination. On the contrary, for the descendants of Sitting Bull and Geronimo, it is a great victory, a source of immense pride and, without doubt, the best thing that has happened since their recognition as Americans in 1924 and obtaining the right to vote in 1948. “The appointment of Deb Haaland to head a Department of the Interior is indeed a historic moment that none of us will ever forget, explains with emotion this young Native American adviser to the New Mexico state government, whose position requires anonymity. For the first time, someone like us will be at the top of the state. And will be able to understand the specific issues of the 5.22 million native americans [Indiens des Etats-Unis, qu’ils soient “natifs” ou métis]often downgraded, marginalized, ostracized.”
With Deb Haaland in the Interior and ex-African-American General Lloyd Austin in Defense, Joe Biden intends to value the diversity of America. And symbolically break with the Trump era. But the promotion of this Laguna Pueblo – a tribe that has been established in New Mexico for 8,500 years – goes far beyond mere display. “Located on the left of the Democratic Party, but very respectful of the army, this daughter of a soldier – her father, a member of the Marines, was Norwegian-American; her mother, an officer in the Navy, Native American – is particularly persevering”, assures the lawyer and human rights activist June Lorenzo, a laguna pueblo like her, who has known her personally since adolescence. Shaken up in her childhood by the assignments of her parents, the very resilient Deb Haaland, now 60 years old, studied law, created her small hot sauce factory in order to raise (alone) her daughter, knew the bankruptcy, lived a time of social benefits, then became involved in politics in 2008, during the campaign of Barack Obama.
Elected to Congress only two years ago as a representative of New Mexico, she quickly acquired a flattering reputation there. “Usually, deputies devote themselves a lot to their constituency in order to ensure their re-election, resumes June Lorenzo. Deb, she has made a name for herself by focusing on national subjects such as the environment, climate change, women’s rights and, of course, those of Indians. As soon as she took office, she mobilized elected officials and public opinion on the mysterious phenomenon of disappearances and murders of indigenous women in mining regions.” Which, two years later, made the very demanding leader of the Democrats in the House, Nancy Pelosi, say: “Deb Haaland is one of the best members of Congress with whom I have had to work.”
In committee or in the Chamber, Haaland managed to convince the opposing camp (Republican) to vote on his bills. A feat in a country as divided as Trump’s America. “She is an excellent negotiator, who has this talent by atavism”, deciphers the historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of a powerful Counter-history of the United States (Ed. Wildproject, 2018), devoted to the history of America as seen by the Indians. “With the Iroquois [au nord-est du pays], the Pueblos have always been the best diplomats. Haaland is, moreover, incorruptible. And she knows at her fingertips the complex legislation related to the question of land.”
A super-ministry of ecology
This skill will be an undeniable asset for directing the Department of the Interior, whose title should not be confused with the French Ministry of the Interior. Unrelated to police matters, this huge administration (70,000 civil servants) in charge of soil and subsoil management (it controls a quarter of the land located in the western United States), the supervision of oil , gas and mining, wildlife protection and the preservation of national parks. This super-ministry of ecology also oversees the overseas territories (Guam, Virgin Islands, Mariana Islands, American Samoa) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Restoring dialogue between the 574 Indian tribes and the federal government will be the Minister’s first task. The ties were cut by Donald Trump, who has never made a secret of his hatred of native americans. In the 1980s, the billionaire had fought the law authorizing the opening of casinos on Indian reservations, responsible, according to him, for the bankruptcies of his gambling establishments in Atlantic City. In 2017, when he became president, he authorized the construction of a pipeline on the sacred site of Standing Rock, in Dakota. Then he had reduced by 85% the surface of the protected park of Bears Ears, in Utah, also sacred to the Indians. With Deb Haaland, cowboy methods are over. For once, perhaps, the film will end with a happy ending.