Quotes from Deb Haaland

In 2008, I was a full-time volunteer for Barack Obama's first election. I'd take a carload of people and we'd go and canvass in a Native American community every evening.

When my daughter Somah was young, I didn't have much money. But I was fortunate to find a preschool where I could volunteer in exchange for lower tuition. I saw firsthand how an early childhood education shaped my daughter's success.

As an organizer in the most underrepresented communities in my state, I have felt the frustration that so many voters must feel when other states limit polling locations, require photo IDs, and put unnecessary barriers in front of voters.

It's always really great when your hard work pays off.

For almost 20 years, I've worked on various campaigns. I started out as a phone volunteer. I'd go into campaign offices, ask for lists of Native American voters, and just start calling people because I felt that I just wanted to help more Native folks get to the polls.

If we're not protecting our women and we're not protecting our girls and we're not protecting the most vulnerable people in this society, who are we as a country?

The Violence Against Women Act didn't have specific provisions for Indian country until 2013, which is really sad. It's Native women who are the most vulnerable.

Even after being diagnosed with Covid-19, Bolsonaro fails to take this virus seriously and is directly targeting vulnerable indigenous communities by failing to provide them with adequate funding to address this pandemic. It's an attack on human rights.

I spent my 20s earning minimum wage decorating cakes for a living. But one day, I looked in the mirror and realized I wanted more, for me and my people. I saw too many Native Americans struggling, and I realized we should have a voice in who our elected officials are.

Too many American families go bankrupt from healthcare expenses, and low wage workers have to hold two or three jobs just to make ends meet, which leaves many young children without any hope of having a pre-K education - the most important start to a good education and a path out of poverty.

I think it's important to always have diversity, in our Congress or anywhere, but you also need diversity not just for women of color who are most underrepresented, but diversity in different walks of life.

I think it's important that we have different perspectives. We need more diversity in Congress.

During my elementary and middle school years, my mother made me and my siblings' lunches every single day - this was affordable for a Marine climbing the ranks and supporting a family of six.

I will continue to be at the forefront, participating in rallies, marches, letter-writing campaigns, and fighting for federal funding for Planned Parenthood. And, I will always oppose the nomination of any anti-choice U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Everything depends on our ability to sustainably inhabit this earth, and true sustainability will require us all to change our way of thinking on how we take from the earth and how we give back.

The GOP wants to cut funding for birth control, place undue burdens on clinics that serve low income women and families, and defund Planned Parenthood.

Running for Congress isn't something I ever thought I would do.

In Congress, I will fight for an education system that bridges the opportunity gap in order to help close the achievement gap, and prioritize models that sustain and enrich whole people and communities.

I wasn't raised to make history. In high school and family, no one around me was politically involved, and few of my friends planned to attend college or even thought about it.

We only have one earth. Let's take care of it.

We have a government-to-government relationship with tribes, and they should have that opportunity to weigh in on important decisions that affect them.

In spite of our agonizing history, Native American people find much to celebrate. The songs, the dances, the culture and traditions surrounding planting and harvests, the prayers that are sent upward for healing and peace, and the welcoming of children into our families, are all reasons for us to keep moving forward with optimism.

We must be welcoming to those who flee their country because of violence and abject poverty in hopes of a better future - that's who we are as Americans.

Trump continues to diminish the office of the Presidency.