Stephanie Bryan, Poarch Band of Creek Indians Chairwoman, congratulated Representative Deb Haaland on her historic nomination by President-Elect Joe Biden to serve as the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. The Department of Interior has jurisdiction over a wide variety of government programs, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She will become the first Native American to lead the powerful federal agency.
Haaland, 60, is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe and lives in New Mexico. Haaland has represented New Mexico’s First Congressional District since 2018. She was one of two Native American women to be elected that year, making her one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress. Prior to this nomination, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been run by non-Native officials, mostly male. For generations, the department worked to take control of Native American land, and attempted to assimilate them into white culture, Associated Press reported.
Bryan stated, “My friend Deb has been a great advocate for Tribes during her time in the House of Representatives, and for that I want to thank her. It has been a pleasure to get to know her and see her passion for tribal priorities, and the Poarch Creek Indians have no doubt she will ably lead the Interior Department.”
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama. They operate as a sovereign nation with their own system of government and bylaws. The Poarch Creek Indians are descendants of a segment of the original Creek Nation that once covered almost all of Alabama and Georgia. The Poarch Creeks were not removed from their tribal lands and have lived together for almost 200 years in and around the reservation in Poarch, Alabama.
