Ken Salazar reflects on his career in American public affairs, and discusses his service in the Obama administration as U.S. secretary of the interior from 2009 to 2013. Salazar recounts his career in politics prior to Obama's election in 2008, and shares memories of his service alongside Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate in the 109th and 110th congresses. Salazar speaks widely about the operations o f the U.S. Department of the Interior and his approach to his role, and he focuses on his three priority portfolio areas: the pursuit of American energy independence, the administration's conservation agenda, and government-to-government relations between the U.S. and tribal nations. He details notable events, issues, and initiatives with which he was closely involved, including the Cobell v. Salazar class action litigation and settlement processes; the administration's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; annual White House Tribal Nations Conferences; the use of the Antiquities Act and the creation of new national monuments and wilderness areas; the construction of monuments in commemoration of women, people of color, and minority histories; the America's Great Outdoors program and efforts to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of American public lands; and the management of leases for fossil fuel exploration and development on public lands. Also discussed are Salazar's personal relationship with Obama, Salazar's involvement in immigration reform legislative initiatives, organizational changes to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the increased polarization of Washington politics over the course of Salazar's career
Presidents--United States; Energy security--Political aspects--United States; Conservation of natural resources--Political aspects--United States; Indian country (United States law); BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010; Salazar, Ken; Obama, Barack; United States. Department of the Interior; United States; United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs; Antiquities Act of 1906; White House Tribal Nations Conference
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
115 pages
Note (Biographical)
Ken Salazar is an American politician, public servant, diplomat, and lawyer. In the Obama administration, Salazar served as U.S. secretary of the interior from 2009 to 2013. Prior to entering President Obama's cabinet, Salazar served as executive dire ctor of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, as attorney general of Colorado, and, from 2005 to 2009, as a U.S. senator from Colorado. In 2021, Salazar became U.S. ambassador to Mexico
Note
Interviewed by Tess A. McClure on July 30, September 9, and November 23, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Ken Salazar, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023