'We just made history': Native Americans praise historic choice to have Deb Haaland lead Interior
Ledyard King, USA TODAY
Replay Video
UP NEXT
WASHINGTON – For Oliver "OJ" Semans, President-elect Joe Biden's expected choice of New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman Deb Haaland as the first Native American secretary of the Interior Department isn't just about the policies she'll pursue for Indian Country or the tribal relationships she'll be overseeing.
It's also about the simple act of acknowledgement.
“Deb being in the Interior would be removing that invisible cloak that they have put on us all these centuries and making more and more people aware we are here and who we are," said Semans, a political activist and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.