For Immediate Release — April 3, 2025
New York, NY — The nation’s leading Native advocacy group, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) partner to Native Organizers Alliance, endorsed Deb Haaland for Governor of New Mexico. The following statement from Judith Leblanc (Caddo), Executive Director of Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, can be quoted in-full or in-part.
“Deb Haaland provides the kind of ethical, quietly powerful, and uniting leadership we need at this moment. Her commitment to the issues that impact all of us, from the climate crisis to health equity, is so critical to protecting all who reside on these lands.
During her tenure as Secretary of Interior, we, in Indian Country, saw the incredible impact that having representation at one of the highest levels of government can have. Under her leadership, we saw greater protections for the places we hold most sacred; heard an apology from the President for the harms caused by federal boarding schools; and saw a stronger Tribal-federal partnership, as federal agencies were ordered to do more to uphold tribal sovereignty and strengthen the Tribal consultation process to ensure that development doesn’t happen on Tribal lands without the consent of tribes.
Native women have always been strong leaders in our Indigenous communities. Former Secretary Haaland follows in the footsteps of many Native women before her to provide the dedicated and caring leadership we all need. Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund is proud to endorse Deb Haaland for Governor of New Mexico. Rooted in her values of caring for our earth and all living beings, she is the kind of leader we need now more than ever.”