Interior Secretary nominee draws praise from tribal leaders

Leaders from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate expressed joy regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior

Late Thursday night, news broke that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was tapped to serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of the Department of the Interior, replacing Laguna Pueblo leader Deb Haaland, the first Native American to hold the position.

“I have full confidence that Gov. Burgum’s heart and intentions are in a place that will ensure tribal nations are heard and respected in the decisions that shape our shared future,” said Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Chairman J. Garrett Renville in a statement to ICT and the Rapid City Journal.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Burgum would be responsible for the management of public lands and the protection of wildlife, national parks and monuments. Burgum also would oversee many tribal functions, particularly the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education.

Compared to his neighbor South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was tapped by Trump to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security and is currently banned from all nine South Dakota reservations, Burgum has a much better reputation and relationship with tribes in North Dakota and is credited with significantly improving dialogue between the state and five tribes.

Burgum was born and raised in small-town North Dakota and first took office as governor in 2016. Not long after he took office, protests broke out near Cannon Ball, N.D., over the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

Fearing escalation, Burgum ordered all protesters leave the encampments by Feb. 22, 2017, saying he did not want protesters to be removed by force. The state is currently seeking to recoup $38 million from the federal government, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, saying it spent that amount policing the Standing Rock protesters. Burgum testified on Feb. 24 in the federal trial. The case is still ongoing.

Burgum’s response to the protests raised alarms for tribes, and he and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continue to have opposing stances on the pipeline, but the two maintain a solid relationship and meet regularly.

On Wednesday, one day before the news of Burgum’s nomination broke, leaders from the five tribes in North Dakota met with Burgum and North Dakota Indian Affairs Commissioner Brad Hawk at the governor’s mansion.

“North Dakota tribes have such a great relationship with Gov. Burgum,” Standing Rock Chairwoman Janet Alkire said in a statement Friday. “We all have such an admiration and respect for the friendship, partnership and collaboration (we have) with Gov. Burgum. He always reached out if we had an issue.”

Trump has expressed a desire to increase oil and gas production, which Burgum would likely be responsible for spearheading as head of the Interior.

North Dakota is the third largest oil-producing state in the nation, with a majority of its supply coming from the Three Affiliated Tribes’ (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) Fort Berthold Reservation.

“This position carries immense responsibility for stewarding our nation’s lands, and resources and fulfilling the federal government’s trust obligations to tribal nations,” Renville said. “We look forward to working with Gov. Burgum to advance critical issues, including the protection of tribal sovereignty and strengthening the relationships between the federal government and tribal communities.”

Dateline:

RAPID CITY, S.D.