Debra Haaland, a Democrat activist and tribal administrator running in New Mexico’s first district, told Netroots Nation on Friday that if elected, she would be the “first Native American,” elected to Congress.
Haaland made the comment before Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has been accused of fabricating her Native American heritage — took the stage at the progressive political conference.
“Hello Netroots Nation! My name is Deb Haaland. I’m the Democratic nominee for New Mexico’s first congressional district,” Haaland began. “If elected, I’ll be the first Native American woman In Congress. Thank-you. I’m a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th generation New-Mexican. I’m a single mother to my beautiful queer daughter, a water protector and I’m proud to be here.”
“I recognize we are on indigenous land and I approach you with respect for the tribes whose homeland we stand on now, including the Chitimacha and Houma tribes.”
Haaland, one of the 81 Democrat candidates endorsed by former President Barack Obama this week, has spoken out strongly against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Thank you so much President Obama! @BarackObama Your endorsement means to world to me. https://t.co/5JglSebglw
— Deb Haaland (@Deb4CongressNM) August 1, 2018
The New Mexican native has accused President Donald Trump of engaging in efforts to “dehumanize and hurt immigrants — from caging small children to arresting parents outside of churches and banning people from our country based on their religion.” Additionally, the congressional candidates have joined the ranks of leading Democrats such as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in calling for the abolishment of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “I have called for abolishing ICE, because it is not living up to its mission,” she told Fox News. “The violence and terror ICE promotes must stop, and we need to hold this out-of-control agency accountable.”
As Breitbart News reported in 2012, Warren has yet to substantiate claims she possesses Native American ancestry. “The slender thread upon which Elizabeth Warren’s claim that she is 1/32 Cherokee rests—a purported 1894 marriage license application—has been exposed as non-existent. Based on a review of the original marriage records found in the files of the Logan County, Oklahoma Court Clerk’s office in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and the statements of ReJeania Zmek, the Court Clerk of Logan County, Oklahoma, it is likely that the ephemeral 1894 marriage license application never existed,” wrote Michael Patrick Leahy.
President Trump frequently mocks Warren’s claim of possessing Native America heritage, often referring to her Pocahontas.
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