Meeting with Secretary Deb Haaland

Trustee Germain Smith had the honor and pleasure to meet with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet Secretary.

Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) and New York State Governor Kathy Hochul attended the South Fork Wind groundbreaking ceremony today in Wainscott. South Fork Wind is the first offshore wind project for New York and the second commercial-scale offshore project approved in federal waters in the United States.

Trustee Smith and Haaland spoke privately about issues on Shinnecock territory including education and land determination. Haaland also started her speech with a land acknowledgement, a formal statement to recognize being on Shinnecock ancestral lands. Trustees Bryan Polite, Kelly Dennis, and Sunksqua Linda Franklin also plan on meeting with Haaland.