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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in Wisconsin. (Photo: Chuck Quirmbach)
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna) has started making campaign appearances for the Biden-Harris ticket.
She spent part of last weekend at events in Wisconsin.
Chuck Quirmbach of station WUWM reports.
Cabinet secretaries and many other federal employees have to be careful about engaging in political campaigning.
So a Biden-Harris campaign press release announcing Sec. Haaland’s four stops in Wisconsin referred to her as “The Honorable Deb Haaland”.
And here’s how Sec. Haaland introduced herself at a Democratic Party headquarters in the city of Sheboygan.
“I will just reiterate the fact that I’m here in my personal capacity and everybody here can call me Deb. Leave off the title, please.”
Sec. Haaland spoke for about twelve minutes, praising the work of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Then she turned her remarks to the record of former president, and likely 2024 GOP nominee, Donald Trump.
“Remember going to sleep each night with a pit in your stomach, wondering what you were going to wake up to the next morning or which world leader he’d pick a fight with next.”
Photo: Chuck Quirmbach
At earlier stops in Green Bay and Shawano, Sec. Haaland spoke to audiences that included many members of the Oneida and Menominee Nations.
Gracie Waukechon is a student at the Menominee College, and is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Waukechon introduced Sec. Haaland at the Shawano event and says the Interior Secretary is a big plus in tribal areas.
“To have a Native person in cabinet, and to travel across Wisconsin, as a surrogate for President Biden, it is not only effective but, it gets a positive response, and we really love her up in Menominee County.”
Waukechon is getting ready to vote in her first presidential election.
President Biden will need all the help he can get. He only won Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes four years ago and polls show him in a tight race with Trump this year.
A Biden campaign official says Sec. Haaland is planning to do more campaign stops around the U.S.
Members of Colorado’s two Native American Tribes — the Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute — gathered at the State Capitol for the second-annual Ute Day. (Photo: Lucas Brady Woods / KUNC)
Tribal leaders came to the Colorado capitol recently for Ute Day – highlighting the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Tribes.
They called on lawmakers to follow through with promises made last year.
KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.
Southern Ute Chairman Melvin J. Baker, pictured here on Friday, March 15, 2024, called on Gov. Jared Polis and lawmakers to resolve issues around unequal access to sports betting for the Tribes. (Photo: Lucas Brady Woods / KUNC)
The tribes’ leaders addressed a joint session of the legislature.
They praised the state government’s tribal engagement efforts but said more needs to be done.
Southern Ute Chairman Melvin J Baker said the tribes have not been given equal access to sports betting, even though it was legalized statewide four years ago.
He said tribal leaders met with Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) about this last year.
“He assured us that one of the priorities would be to visit the tribe and resolve this issue … enough is enough. We are tired of broken promises.”
Baker and Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Manuel Heart also called for more state support around healthcare, education, and water rights.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday to highlight $1.3 billion dollars in federal funding for Native housing programs.
It is part of a six-bill appropriations package signed into law last week.
“This historic funding is a big deal. It means they can build more affordable housing, provide rental assistance, and get electricity and plumbing into homes.”
Sen. Schatz chairs the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.
He says there’s also new federal funding for tribal transportation.
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