My wife and I recently undertook a road trip of over 2,500 miles that touched six states: California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Along the way, we stopped at Four Corners. Indian country. Driving along the endless roads in the Arizona Navajo Nation, I gave much thought to the lives of Native Americans, both now and throughout our history. Also, having just read Lonesome Dove recently, I was struck with the terrible injustices our “civilization” inflicted upon the Native American people everywhere. While in Colorado we stayed a night in Boulder, and while strolling along Pearl Street mall, I went to the Boulder Bookstore. I don’t usually buy hardcopy books anymore, but Deb Haaland’s memoir A Voice Like Mine jumped into my hands. I recently visited the New Mexico State Capitol and actually walked into the Governor’s office there. Deb Haaland is the current frontrunner for the governorship in New Mexico.

Haaland identifies herself as a 35th-generation New Mexican and descendant of the continent’s original inhabitants. I still remember being moved and impressed when Haaland was appointed Secretary of the Interior by President Biden. While I didn’t know very much about her then, to me it was a watershed time, just like the election of Barack Obama in 2016. Having a Native American woman put in charge of the U.S. Department of the Interior and its 65,000 employees was one of the most rewarding political moves I have observed in my lifetime, and I give Biden much credit for that.

During my road trip, much through Indian country, reading Deb Haaland’s memoir was a moving experience. I found myself reading passages to my wife as she was driving, sometimes with tears in my eyes.

She grew up surrounded by Native Americans. Her father was a descendant of recent Norwegian immigrants. His career was with the U.S. Marines. This combination of being a child of a military family and a Native American family gave her a unique background and insight into lives of minorities of all types. She has lived a life of poverty, alcoholism in her younger years, and single parenthood. Despite severe adversity, she managed to go to college and eventually earned a law degree. She has been a lifelong runner, including a marathon runner. As she entered politics as an organizer and a volunteer to Obama’s first campaign, she advanced to progressively higher positions and finally served as one of the first two women in the U.S. House of Representatives.