Rodney Blaine Lewis

Rodney Blaine ("Rod") Lewis, a member of the Gila River Indian
Community, and a ground-breaking attorney and brilliant advocate for
the rights of Native Americans, has passed away.

Mr. Lewis was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 15, 1940. He
started school at Sacaton Public School, on the Gila River Indian Reservation, and later graduated from North Phoenix High School, where he was an outstanding basketball player known as "Hot Rod." He attended
Phoenix College where he also played basketball. He was a life-long
loyal Phoenix Suns fan. He graduated from Trinity University in 1962,
and enlisted in the United States Army, rising to the rank of First
Lieutenant. He completed training to become certified as an Airborne Ranger, the Army’s elite corp of Warriors, and was honorably discharged. Following his discharge from the Army, Rod married, then
received his Master’s Degree in History from Arizona State University, and for a time he taught high school in New York, and here in Arizona. With the assistance of the G.I. Bill, Rod attended UCLA School of Law and received his law degree in 1972. He returned to his home on the Gila River Indian Reservation to raise his family and practice law. He was the first member of an American Indian tribe to pass the bar in the State of Arizona.

Rod opened the first legal services office on the Gila River Indian Reservation and represented tribal members all across the reservation for several years. He also represented the Gila River Farms during
that time. In 1977, Rod was appointed by the Gila River Community Council to serve as General Counsel for the Gila River Indian Community. He was the first Gila River tribal member to ever serve
as his own Tribe’s General Counsel.

Only three years after being appointed as General Counsel to his Tribe, Rod successfully argued the case of Central Machinery vs. Arizona Tax Commission before the United States Supreme Court, which challenged the State’s taxation of tribal business transactions on the reservation. He was the first Native American lawyer ever to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court, and win. Mr. Lewis continued working diligently to defend the rights of his people, and after 30 years, he negotiated the largest water rights settlement in history for the Gila River Indian Community - the Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act of 2004. He retired as General Counsel to the Gila River Indian Community in 2007. Thereafter he became a legal and policy consultant for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP where he successfully represented the Crow Tribe of Montana and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in California, in their fights to regain their water rights. (Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 and the Pechanga Band of Luise�o Water Rights Settlement Act of 2016.)

Mr. Lewis’ legal career was marked by many "firsts," and by many outstanding achievements. In 1970 Rod was appointed as a founding member of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Fund along with noted civil rights icon John R. Lewis. He has been recognized widely by the legal community for excellence in his field, as well as for his dedication, integrity and commitment to public service. He has received life-time achievement awards from the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, and the Native American Bar Association. He has been recognized on the floor of the United States Senate for his outstanding public service in the field of law. Most recently, Mr. Lewis
was appointed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to the Board of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. He was the first Native American ever appointed to sit on this prestigious Board.

Rodney Blaine Lewis was a legal trailblazer, mentor, and role model to many attorneys, both Indian and non-Indian. He was a true Warrior who fought tirelessly for the rights of his own people, as well as for Native Americans throughout the Country. Like a true Warrior, he never gave up the fight.
Throughout his lifetime, he exemplified the Army Ranger motto - that "Rangers lead the way!". And indeed he did.

He passed away on April 10, 2018, with his family by his side. He was preceded in death by his parents, the late Reverend Roe Blaine Lewis and Sarah ("Sally") Simms Lewis, and a brother, the late Robert Roe Lewis. He is survived by his wife, Willardene Pratt Lewis, of Sacaton, a son, Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, also of Sacaton, a son, John Blaine Lewis, and a daughter, Katherine Lewis, both of Phoenix, a brother, John R. Lewis, of Scottsdale, and seven grandchildren.

Wake services are being held Friday, April 20, 2018, in Sacaton, from 6-10pm, with Traditional singing from 10pm-12am, at the Sacaton Boys and Girls Club, on the Gila River Indian Reservation.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at 8am in Casa Blanca, at Vah-ki Presbyterian Church Arbor, also on the reservation. Burial will be at Upper Santan Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are being handled by J. Warren Mortuary in Casa Grande.