U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited Connecticut Wednesday, the day after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address, toured parts of the state and met with members of the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to discuss investments in Tribal communities.
She met with leaders from the Mohegan Tribe and toured the Tantaquidgeon Museum and later traveled to Mashantucket to tour the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and meet with Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Tribal Council members, youth leaders, and community members about the issues impacting the community, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“Today it was an incredible honor for our Tribal Council, Elders Council, and Youth Council to welcome to Mashantucket the first Native American woman to ever serve as U.S. Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland. A longtime friend of Mashantucket, Secretary Haaland is the first sitting Secretary of Interior to ever visit our reservation. There was no better way to kick off Women’s History Month than hosting a woman who has broken so many barriers and has an unparalleled commitment to this country and all Native Americans,” a statement from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation says.
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Haaland, Gov. Ned Lamont, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams visited the Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge in Westbrook while she was here.
The Department of the Interior said the infrastructure law would help strengthen Tribal economies, bolster community resilience, replace aging infrastructure, expand access to clean drinking water, and ensure that everyone has access to high-speed internet.
