Secretary Haaland confirmed, Klamath reacts

On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, Deb Haaland took the oath of office to become the 54th Secretary of the Department of the Interior in a small ceremony with family. The oath of office was administered by Chief of Staff Jennifer Van der Heide.

Haaland’s first full day as Interior Secretary will be March 17, with a ceremonial swearing-in with Vice President Kamala Harris will be announced later this week.

Haaland issued the following statement:

“At my confirmation hearing, I said that we all have a stake in the future of our country. No matter your political party or Zipcode, your ancestral heritage or income level, we all must take the formidable challenges that lie ahead seriously, and we will take them head-on, together.

“I am proud and humbled to lead the dedicated team at Interior as we seek to leave a livable planet for future generations. Together, we will work to advance President Biden’s vision to honor our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes, address the climate and nature crises, advance environmental justice, and build a clean energy future that creates good-paying jobs and powers our nation.

“The change we need will take hard work and perseverance, but I know that together there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”

Haaland assumes duties as Secretary of the Department of the Interior previously held by Secretary David Bernhardt. While Secretary, Bernhardt took a keen interest in the water issues of the Klamath Basin visiting the Basin multiple times and talking to parties on both sides of the issue.

Local leaders, organizations, and the Klamath Tribes have made statements on what this means for the Klamath Basin and how they hope to work with Secretary Haaland. Below are their comments.

The Klamath Tribes

As tribal nations all across the country celebrate the confirmation of Secretary Deb Haaland, the Klamath Tribes see it as a beacon of hope in a long history of challenging relationships with the Department of the Interior. As the Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland is the first Indigenous cabinet Secretary and the first Native woman to serve as Secretary of Interior.

The Klamath Tribes look forward to working on several issues that will improve the lives of our people.

“As a matriarch herself Secretary Haaland understands the complex issues and decisions tribes make” said Councilwoman Willa Powless, “This conformation is historic in so many ways but for the first time it feels like tribes will be understood and listened to when advocating for our people”.

Secretary Roberta Frost stated, “It is heartening to think that an indigenous woman will be leading the Department of Interior. During her confirmation hearing, Secretary Haaland talked about protecting mother earth, this is so important to us as a Tribe.”

Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris

"This is historic, our first Native American Secretary of the Interior. I'm hopeful she'll work in a bipartisan manner- as her supporters emphasized during her Senate confirmation hearing- for the benefit of all Westerners."

Dan Keppen, Family Farm Alliance

"Congratulations to Rep. Haaland for this historic appointment. Our new Interior Secretary has a good reputation for working in a bipartisan fashion. There are other excellent water people on her team at Interior who we know and trust. We sincerely look forward to working with them to best serve our best producers of food and fiber - Western farmers and ranchers."

Paul Simmons, Klamath Water Users Association

We congratulate Secretary Haaland and look forward to working with her and her team.

Editors Note: Local agencies residing under the direction of Secretary Haaland were not available for comment.