By Noah Zucker

MILLSBORO — Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo tribe, was confirmed as interior secretary on Monday, making her the nation’s first Native American cabinet appointee.

This point was not lost on Bonnie Hall, a life-long Delawarean and member of the Nanticoke tribe based in Millsboro. She also serves as the chair for the Nanticoke Indian Tribe Commemoration Committee.

“I think it’s very exciting for (Ms. Haaland) to be assigned, nominated and confirmed for this position,” Ms. Hall said. “Her background and of course her Native American heritage puts her in a position in my mind to be ready when she hits the ground in this secretary position.”

Ms. Haaland will be running the Department of the Interior, an agency focused on federal land and natural resources which contains the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which works closely with many indigenous groups nationwide.

The timing is great, Ms. Hall said.

Women’s history month

“I think it’s wonderful this is taking place during National Women’s History Month, because she is definitely going to be a trailblazer,” Ms. Hall said. “I couldn’t be prouder, as a Native American female, to see her in this position.”

But the Nanticokes have their own trailblazing executive as well in the form of Chief Natosha Carmine, who became the tribe’s first female leader after she ran unopposed.

“I’ve been chief since January 2016,” she said. “I am in the second year of my third (two-year) term.”

It was never a goal of hers to become the tribe’s first female chief.

“For me, (becoming) the first female chief of the tribe was not on my radar until the reporters started asking me what it felt like.”

What was important to Chief Carmine was helping her people.

“Looking back on it, I ran for chief because I felt there was a need for the Nanticoke to experience more than what they had experienced (with) opportunities and that,” the chief said.

One of those opportunities she hopes to offer her tribe in the future is knowledge of their ancestral language, which has gone largely unspoken for generations.

Language revival

“When I became chief, one of my youngest tribal council members — who is actually now my assistant chief — Brett Jackson, had a vision to bring the language back,” she said. “We had a linguist from Washington, D.C … who had studied some other (Native American) languages who helped us in January of 2017 to have classes.”

Since then, the tribe has put together a book and a video aid for those hoping to learn, although the effort has been derailed to a degree in the past year by the pandemic.

Chief Carmine hoped that Ms. Haaland would help all Americans, indigenous or not, in her position of power.

“I think that she will look out for the interest of all,” Chief Carmine said. “Preserving the lands and waters is important.”

Conservation

On a national scale, Ms. Haaland will play a huge role in decisions about natural resources and the conservation of undeveloped lands given that the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service all fall under her purview.

Some local politicians from outside the indigenous community, like Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), were also excited.

“Deb Haaland is what we want in our leaders. She is humble with the heart of a true public servant,” the senator said of his former colleague, who represented New Mexico in the Senate between 2019 and 2021. “Her confirmation to lead the Department of Interior is historic and fitting for someone who has spent her career fighting to protect our public lands, wildlife and environment for future generations.”

He expects to work with her closely in the coming years.

“As Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, I look forward to working with Secretary Haaland on issues like addressing our climate crisis and restoring protections for migratory birds and our nation’s most imperiled wildlife,” Sen. Carper said.

Federal recognition

Interestingly, even though the Nanticoke and the Cheswold-based Lenape band are recognized by Sen. Carper’s home state – his employer, the federal government, has not followed suit.

“We’re not federally recognized,” Ms. Hall said. “We don’t coordinate anything with (BIA).”

She doesn’t think that the Nanticokes alone are voluminous enough to move forward with an application successfully.

“One of my personal hopes and goals and dreams is that at some point in time we will be prepared to submit an application for federal recognition,” Ms. Hall said.

Ms. Hall said the best bet is to apply together with two other closely related tribes, the Lenape band from Cheswold and the Lenni-Lenape band from Southern New Jersey.

“In my mind, I think we would have a better success if we kind of joined together to submit the application, but I don’t know that everyone’s in agreement with my perspective,” she said.

Chief Carmine agreed that not everyone in the three communities was on the same page about this.

“This is a conversation that the tribal people would need to have. Some may believe we need to be federally recognized. Some may believe we’re okay where we are,” she said.

Applying to be federally recognized is a challenging process, said the chief, who works as a legal assistant in Georgetown.

“Maybe there are some benefits to not being federally recognized. Working in a law office and working with federal loans and that, I know you have to dot your I’s and cross your T’s, and if not, that federal opportunity would not be with you,” she said.

Looking forward

Regardless, the Nanticokes will be keeping an eye on Ms. Haaland.

“We pay attention to the news and we pay attention to what’s happening on a national scale, because a lot of those decisions do in many ways help us have a better understanding of the negotiation process.” Ms. Hall said.

Chief Carmine wouldn’t expect to be ignored by Ms. Haaland if she reached out.

“I don’t know that (Ms. Haaland) would say I can’t speak to the Nanticoke because they’re not federally recognized,” the chief said. “If the need arose that I needed to interact with any government agency – county, state or federal – I would.”

Regardless, Ms. Hall was excited about the development.

“I have no doubt in my mind her contributions are going to be astounding,” she said.

Ms. Hall hopes Ms. Haaland will bring the often-overlooked Native American perspective to the federal government, an institution notorious for its mistreatment of indigenous peoples.

The chief hopes more Native Americans come into national positions of power soon.

“There should be a Native American at every table of the government,” Chief Carmine said.