The Hon. Deb Haaland, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, will deliver the keynote address at the 2025 Sovereignty Symposium, to be held at OKANA Resort in Ƶ on June 12-13. Secretary Haaland will deliver her remarks at 10:15 a.m. June 13.
Secretary Haaland, an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, served as the 54th U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 2021-25 and was the first Native American in the nation’s history to serve in a president’s cabinet. Haaland served in the U.S. Congress representing New Mexico before her appointment to the cabinet. She’s a mom, ran her own business and holds a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
“Secretary Haaland’s leadership has truly made history, and she has been an important champion for tribal communities everywhere,” Ƶ University School of Law Dean David Holt said. “We are thrilled to welcome Secretary Haaland to Sovereignty Symposium, and I know our attendees will greatly enjoy this opportunity to hear from her.”
The Sovereignty Symposium was founded in 1988 and is now hosted by the Ƶ School of Law. It features panel discussions on a variety of topics impacting Native American tribes, including economic development, health care, cultural preservation and environmental policy.
Registration and more information, including a schedule and draft of the agenda, is available at .