This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When Deb Haaland was chosen as the secretary of the Interior by President Joe Biden in 2021, she was the first Native American ever to serve in a US Cabinet. It was a seminal moment for tribal citizens: For more than 150 years, the Interior Department had been the arm of the US government in charge of managing relationships with tribes, which included executing its colonial agenda.