Deb Haaland Quotes

In New Mexico, we're very lucky that we have laws in place that really help ensure that Native Americans' right to vote is unencumbered.

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.

Anybody who thinks that getting a communication from a voter in your district is spam - that guy is pork. Roast pork unless he changes his point of view.

Young people need to vote. They need to get out there. Every vote counts. Educate yourself too. Don't just vote. Know what you're voting for, and stand by that.

I represent more Native Americans than anyone else in Congress.

I have a very personal interest. I am a Miami-Dade voter. One of the issues is that my vote and so many other votes of women and African Americans in Florida are being discounted or discarded. I want my vote to count.

It isn't like dealing with a state legislature.

For far too long, the voices of Native Americans have been woefully underrepresented in Congress.

I can't imagine what it must be like to be one of the indigenous people of the United States of America. I can't imagine watching the news every day - as people debate whose country this is and who should be in charge of it and how to make it great again - and hardly ever see your people brought into the discussion.

In everything I've done, I've always tried to make room for indigenous people, to include them.

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.

I want everyone to vote. I want everyone to be a part of electing officials. Because when we are not a part, when we don't have a very broad voter base, then we don't have true representation.

Legislators could easily be out-voted if people voted in midterm elections. The fact that we don't talk about all this stuff [ abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, or voting rights] very much because Donald Trump and the general election is sucking all the air out of the room - if people aren't paying attention to their state, they're certainly not paying attention to what's happening in other states.

You don't want to upset the people from California. They can outvote you.

The Electoral College was necessary when communications were poor, literacy was low, and voters lacked information about out-of-state figures, which is clearly no longer the case.

Since its inception, the government has broken and coerced treaties with hundreds of Native American tribes. And this is even worse when you realize that the native peoples of this land are negotiating for land that is, by all common sense and elementary school logic, their land.

I doubt the people of North Carolina will be content to allow the governor to decide or even unduly influence selecting their senator.

In Indian communities, it's a separate sovereign government, so you have to get permission from the tribal leadership before you can start campaigning on their land.

There's always a little bit of friction when you're trying to democratize an industry.

My opinion is that the movie business should show an accurate picture, but I think the responsibility lies in the educational system. Most of the educational material I've seen on the Native American does not portray an actual picture.

I've been pushing for the longest time that you get the votes easier and with more enthusiasm when people feel like you're addressing their concerns.

I think it doesn't actually matter what your political persuasion is, but if you are interested in the country that you live in and the way in which it's run, everyone has to do something about that.

I don't understand politics at all.

The left patronizes minorities, pretends they don't know how to vote correctly, pretends they don't have IDs, when in fact they want their votes to count, and participate in greater numbers when you assure them their votes will count.

Any voting group has an interest that they want from politicians. That's why politicians have to talk to different people. But to reduce the black interest to free stuff is so insulting. It just makes me apoplectic.