A Voice Like Mine: A Memoir

Former cabinet secretary, organizer, congresswoman, and New Mexico 2026 gubernatorial Democratic nominee Deb Haaland shares her story, offering a powerful and personal look at what it means to be “the first.”

Nothing about Deb Haaland’s upbringing or family history set her up for a life of firsts: the first Native American woman elected to chair a state political party in the United States, one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet. A thirty-fifth-generation New Mexican and member of the Pueblo of Laguna, Haaland has lived a remarkable life shaped by poverty, alcoholism, and single parenthood. After a late but meteoric rise in politics, she stepped down from her cabinet position as secretary of the interior in January 2025 to run for governor of New Mexico in the 2026 election.

In A Voice Like Mine—titled after Haaland’s congressional campaign slogan, “Congress has never heard a voice like mine”—she shares the personal history that inspired her courage to organize, run for office, and be a leader. She tells the stories that have defined her life in politics and beyond, from working in her grandfather’s cornfield to fighting for change in the halls of Washington, DC. Throughout her journey, Haaland has drawn on her heritage in her activism and service, leading with humility, purpose, and a commitment to “leave the ladder down” for those who follow.