MAINE PUBLIC • December 18, 2020
Around the country, native people, including leaders of the Penobscot Nation in Maine, are rejoicing at the nomination of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico to lead the Department of Interior. Haaland would be the first Native American to serve in a cabinet-level position. “It’s a level of representation we’ve never had before,” says Maulian Dana, tribal ambassador for the Penobscot Nation. Dana says if Haaland is confirmed, it will be both symbolic and transformational for indigenous people.