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Pueblo Action Alliance

Website:

www.puebloactionalliance.org/
Location:

Albuquerque, NM
Project of:

SouthWest Organizing Project
Formation:

2016

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Pueblo Action Alliance is a far-left Native American environmental activist group. It is a fiscally-sponsored project of the SouthWest Organizing Project.1

Pueblo Action Alliance sees itself as descended from Native American resistance to European colonial settlement in what is now the Southwestern United States. The organization claims that it seeks to “dismantle and eradicate white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism, hetero-patriarchy and extractive colonialism,” as well to achieve “rematriation of everything stolen.” 2 The group is opposed to oil and gas production,3 it has described the purpose of police as being “to control, criminalize, and brutalize African and Indigenous peoples on stolen land,”4 and it has expressed support for the communist Cuban Revolution.5

Pueblo Action Alliance attracted attention for its connections to Biden Administration Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, whose child Somah Haaland was employed by the group as of November 2022.6 Republican members of Congress launched an investigation into Secretary Haaland’s relationship with the group in June 2023, specifically concerning a decision to restrict oil and gas production projects on certain lands in New Mexico.7

In 2022, the Marguerite Casey Foundation gave $175,000 to support the Pueblo Action Alliance.8

History and Activities

Pueblo Action Alliance was founded in 2016,9 and is a fiscally-sponsored project of the SouthWest Organizing Project.1 It describes itself as “the descendants of Pueblo revolutionaries” who revolted against the Spanish Empire in 1680 in what is now New Mexico.10

Pueblo Action Alliance describes its vision as follows:

“We view Indigenous solutions as means to dismantle and eradicate white supremacy, capitalism, imperialism, hetero-patriarchy and extractive colonialism. Rematriation of everything stolen. The liberation of Indigenous peoples is the liberation for all.”11

According to a list of “ten points of unity” published on its website, Pueblo Action Alliance seeks among other things “to dismantle and eradicate oppressive systems and european [sic] occupations that have killed, harmed and assimilated Indigenous people.” It embraces “all Pueblo Indigenous identities by rejecting euro-centric ideologies” and works “to restore balance of power among our women, trans, Two Spirit, and gender non-conforming relatives.”12

Pueblo Action Alliance believes that “Fossil Fuel extraction is an example of the symptoms that come from colonialism,” and the organization faults colonialism for having given rise to the oil and gas industry itself.13 It opposes the development of traditional energy resources, and believes that carbon emissions can only be addressed through moving “away from capitalist economies and social behaviors.”3 It also opposes all hydrogen development in New Mexico.14

In June 2020, the Pueblo Action Alliance released a statement in support of the far-left Black Lives Matter movement, which claimed that “the institution of policing in the United States was created to control, criminalize, and brutalize African and Indigenous peoples on stolen land,” and that many police officers are “outright fascists and white supremacists.” Arguing that police violence is “rooted in the white supremacist, settler-colonial capitalist American project,” the Pueblo Action Alliance declared that “the police are enemies of all oppressed peoples fighting to liberate ourselves from colonial power. They are the enemy of living free, the enemy of protecting and defending our human dignity, the enemy of community and the enemy of all African and Indigenous people.”4

Pueblo Action Alliance has expressed solidarity with the communist Cuban Revolution, and posted material describing Cuba as “the most sustainable country.” It has also promoted the Venceremos Brigade on its website.5 Since 1969, the Venceremos Brigade has organized trips to Cuba for Americans who wish to demonstrate their support for the Cuban Revolution and their opposition to United States policy toward the country.15

Material posted on Pueblo Action Alliance’s website as of February 2021 explains that through its membership in the New Mexico Anti-War Coalition, the group wants “to emphasise [sic] how the U.S [sic] is a murderous empire.”16

Connection to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland

Pueblo Action Alliance supported the nomination of Deb Haaland to be U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the Biden Administration.17 After Haaland was confirmed in March 2021, the group released a statement saying that “Deb has proved herself by navigating through a system that has intentionally been created against BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities,” and expressed optimism that she would pursue issues of importance to the Pueblo Action Alliance.18

Secretary Haaland’s child, Somah Haaland, was listed as Pueblo Action Alliance’s media organizer as of November 2022.6

In October 2021, a group of over 100 activists from the “People vs. Fossil Fuels'” coalition, of which Pueblo Action Aliance was listed as a part of at the time, demonstrated in front of the U.S Department of the Interior (DOI) headquarters calling for the Biden Administration to take further action on global warming. The activists the entered the building and handcuffed themselves to the doors, and when police units and DOI security personal attempted to remove them the protest turned violent and led to several DOI personal being injured and “and one officer being transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.” 19 According to a report by Fox News, it could not be confirmed if members of Puelbo Action Alliance were present at the protest. 19

In June 2023, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Republican members of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee were investigating Secretary Haaland’s relationship with Pueblo Action Alliance in connection with her decision to limit oil and gas projects on certain lands in New Mexico. Haaland had reportedly met with Pueblo Action Alliance’s executive director in 2021, and Somah Haaland was reported to have been personally involved in lobbying efforts to encourage the federal government to prohibit oil and gas production in parts of New Mexico.7

In a June 2023 letter addressed to Secretary Haaland requesting the production of various related documents and communications, Republican members of Congress wrote that “the House Committee on Natural Resources…is concerned with Secretary Haaland’s compliance with ethical obligations and potential conflicts of interest given [Pueblo Action Alliance’s] opposition to oil and gas production on federal lands, Secretary Haaland’s involvement with [Pueblo Action Alliance], [and] Somah’s work with [Pueblo Action Alliance] to limit domestic energy production.”20

Julia Bernal, executive director of the Pueblo Action Alliance, called the allegations “a misguided attempt to deflect attention from the fossil fuel industry’s role in the climate crisis and the destruction of ancestral lands.”21

 

Leadership

Julia Bernal was listed as director of the Pueblo Action Alliance as of November 2022.6 According to her profile on Linkedin, Bernal joined Pueblo Action Alliance in late 2016 as environmental justice director, and later became executive director. She was also previously a program coordinator for Earth Force, and a water resources technician with AmeriCorps. Bernal is board chair of the Native Lands Institute and a member of the advisory council of the Restoring Balance Collaborative at Red Star International.22

Somah Haaland was listed as media organizer of the Pueblo Action Alliance as of November 2022.6 Haaland, who has also reportedly worked at the left-wing advocacy group Seeding Sovereignty, is the child of Biden Administration Secretary of the Interior and former Democratic U.S. Representative Deb Haaland.23

Funding

Pueblo Action Alliance is a fiscally-sponsored project of SouthWest Organizing Project, and therefore does not report its own financials.24 SouthWest Organizing Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that had total revenues of $1,848,031 during the fiscal year covering July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.25

Funders that have specifically earmarked grants to support the Pueblo Action Alliance include:

The Chicago Community Trust reported a $497,760 grant in 2021 to Southwest Organizing Project, for the purpose of supporting “Pueblo Action Alliance – Indigenous Impact Community Care Initiative.” However, the address and employer identification number (EIN) provided for that grant belong to a different Southwest Organizing Project located in Chicago, not the Southwest Organizing Project located in Albuquerque.33

Other organizations that have reported grants to the Pueblo Action Alliance include the Burkehaven Family Foundation,34 the Abelard Foundation,35 the Kansha Foundation,36 the East Bay Community Foundation, 37 Resist, 38 the Colorado Plateau Foundation,39 and the Decolonizing Wealth Project.40 As of June 2023, the Pueblo Action Alliance also appeared to list the Indigenous Environmental Network, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), and the Schmidt Family Foundation among its “funders and donors.”41

References

  1. “Support Us.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed June 21, 2023. https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/donate.
  2. “Purpose.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/purpose.
  3. Julia Bernal. “Capitalist Solutions WON’T Solve Climate Change: Carbon Pricing is a FALSE Solution and Not for NM.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/blog/capitalist-solutions-wont-solve-climate-change-carbon-pricing-is-a-false-solution-and-not-for-nm
  4. “Justice for George Floyd.” Pueblo Action Alliance. June 2, 2020. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/blog/justice-for-george-floyd
  5. “New Mexico Regional Committee.” Pueblo Action Alliance. November 19, 2023 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20231119202027/https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/new-page
  6. “Meet Our Team.” Pueblo Action Alliance. November 2, 2022 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20221102003655/https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/meet-our-team
  7. Collin Anderson. “House Committee Launches Investigation into Biden Interior Sec. Over Relationship with Daughter’s Green Group.” Washington Free Beacon. June 6, 2023. Available at: https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/house-committee-launches-investigation-into-biden-interior-sec-over-relationship-with-daughters-green-group/
  8. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Marguerite Casey Foundation. 2022. Part XIV.
  9. “Community Defense.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/cdiicci
  10. “Purpose.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed June 25, 2023. https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/purpose.
  11. “Purpose.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/purpose
  12. “Purpose.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed April 24, 2024. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/purpose
  13. “Timeline of Extractive Colonialism & Indigenous Resistance.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed April 24, 2024. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/timeline
  14. “Press Statement: Indigenous, Youth, Frontline Grassroots Organizations Call on the New Mexico Legislature to Not Undermine the People’s Democracy and Say NO to All Hydrogen.” Pueblo Action Alliance. February 7, 2022. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/blog/press-statement-indigenous-youth-frontline-grassroots-organizations-call-on-the-new-mexico-legislature-to-not-undermine-the-peoples-democracy-and-say-no-to-all-hydrogen
  15. “About the Venceremos Brigade.” Venceremos Brigade. Accessed April 24, 2024. Available at: https://vb4cuba.com/about-the-venceremos-brigade/
  16. “New Mexico Anti-War Coalition.” Pueblo Action Alliance. February 14, 2021 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20210214230613/https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/anti-war-coalition
  17. “Deb Haaland Nomination.” Pueblo Action Alliance. December 18, 2020. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/blog/deb-halaand
  18. “Secretary of the Department of the Interior: Official Statement from Pueblo Action Alliance on the Vote to Confirm Deb Haaland’s Nomination.” Pueblo Action Alliance. March 15, 2021. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/blog/secretary-of-the-department-of-the-interior-official-statement-from-pueblo-action-alliance-on-the-vote-to-confirm-deb-haalands-nomination
  19. Catenacci, Thomas. “Interior secretary daughter’s group tied to protest at Interior headquarters that turned violent.” Fox News, February 3, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/interior-secretarys-daughter-member-group-participated-violent-protest-interior-headquarters?msockid=0fec149b78ac6b610862059b79be6a35
  20. “Committee Members Investigate Haaland’s Conflicts of Interest Following Chaco Canyon Announcement.” U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. June 5, 2023. Available at: https://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=413390
  21. Susan Montoya Bryan. “US House Panel Investigates Ties Between US Interior Secretary, Environmentalists.” ABC News. June 5, 2023. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20230606103317/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-house-panel-investigates-ties-us-interior-secretary-99855605
  22. “Julia Bernal.” Linkedin. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-bernal-9b402b148/
  23. Kate Mazade. “Somah Haaland: ‘We Have a Lot to Say.” American Theatre. July 6, 2020. Available at: https://www.americantheatre.org/2020/07/06/somah-haaland-we-have-a-lot-to-say/
  24. “Donate.” Pueblo Action Alliance. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/donate
  25. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (From 990). SouthWest Organizing Project. 2022. Part I.
  26. “SouthWest Organizing Project.” Davild and Lucile Packard Foundation. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://www.packard.org/grantee/southwest-organizing-project/
  27. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 9900. Justice Outside. 2020 and 2022. Schedule I.
  28. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples Inc. 2020-2021. Schedule I.
  29. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). NDN Collective. 2022. Schedule I.
  30. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Marshall L. and Perrine D. McCune Charitable Foundation Inc. 2019-2020. Part XV.
  31. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). RSF Social Finance Inc. 2022. Schedule I.
  32. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF. Satterberg Foundation. 2020. Part XV.
  33. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). The Chicago Community Trust. 2021. Schedule I.
  34. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Burkehaven Family Foundation. 2020. Part XV.
  35. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Abelard Foundation. 2020. Part XV.
  36. Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). The Kansha Foundation. 2021. Part XIV.
  37. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). East Bay Community Foundation. 2021. Schedule I.
  38. “Pueblo Action Alliance.” Resist. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://resist.org/grantees/pueblo-action-alliance/
  39. “Pueblo Action Alliance – Southwest Organizing Project.” Colorado Plateau Foundation. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://coloradoplateaufoundation.org/portfolio-items/pueblo-action-alliance-southwest-organizing-project/
  40. “Grantee Partners.” Decolonizing Wealth Project. Accessed April 23, 2024. Available at: https://decolonizingwealth.com/liberated-capital/grantees/
  41. “Pueblo Action Alliance.” June 6, 2023 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20230606125117/https://www.puebloactionalliance.org/
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Pueblo Action Alliance

211 10th Street Southwest
Albuquerque, NM