Gila River Indian Community
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement The Gila River Indian Community (O'odham language: Keli Akimel Oʼotham, meaning "Gila River People", Maricopa language: Piipash) is an Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Arizona, lying adjacent to the south side of the cities of Chandler and Phoenix, in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in Pinal and Maricopa counties. The Gila River Indian Community was established in 1859, and the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) was formally established by Congress in 1939. The community has tribal citizens who are Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Piipaash (Maricopa).
The reservation has a land area of Template:Convert and a 2020 Census population of 14,260.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is made up of seven districts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> along the Gila River and its largest communities are Sacaton, Komatke, Santan, and Blackwater. Tribal administrative offices and departments are located in Sacaton. The Community operates its own telecommunications company, electric utility, industrial park and healthcare clinic, and publishes a monthly newspaper. It has one of the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes in the world, around 50% of the population.<ref>A political economy of diabetes, pregnancy, and identity in the Gila River Indian Community, Carolyn Smith-Morris, 2001. Dissertation (Advisor Ana T. Ortiz) University of Arizona</ref> The community voluntarily contributes to Type 2 diabetes research, having participated in many studies of the disease.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Government
Under their constitution, tribal citizens elect a governor and lieutenant governor at-large. They also elect 16 council members, from single-member districts or sub-districts with roughly equal populations.
Template:As of, the current administration is:<ref name="itca">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Governor: Stephen Roe Lewis<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Lt. Governor: Regina Antone
- Council Member, District 1: Duane Jackson, Jr.
- Council Member, District 1: Joey Whitman
- Council Member, District 2: Ann Lucas
- Council Member, District 3: Avery White
- Council Member, District 3: Joseph Manuel, Jr.
- Council Member, District 4: Nada Celeya
- Council Member, District 4: Leah Williams
- Council Member, District 4: Lalena Jackson
- Council Member, District 4: Jennifer Allison
- Council Member, District 5: Brian Davis, Sr.
- Council Member, District 5: Franklin Pablo, Sr.
- Council Member, District 5: Gordon Santos
- Council Member, District 5: Marlin Dixon
- Council Member, District 6: Charles Goldtooth
- Council Member, District 6: Anthony Villareal, Sr.
- Council Member, District 6: Terrance B. Evans
- Council Member, District 7: Devin C. Redbird
Attractions
The first casino opened in 1994.<ref name=azcentral>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Ira H. Hayes Memorial Library is located in District 3 in Sacaton, Arizona, and provides a variety of services to the community.<ref>Ira H. Hayes Memorial Library pamphlet obtained from library on February 16, 2018</ref>
Current communities
- Bapchule (Pi:pchul)
- Blackwater (Chukma Shuhthagi)
- Casa Blanca
- Co-op Village (Chichino)
- Gila Crossing (Kuiwa)
- Goodyear (Valin Dak)
- Lone Butte Ranch (Template:Coord)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Komatke (Komaḍk)
- Maricopa Colony
- Sacate Village
- Sacaton (Geʼe Ki:)
- Sacaton Flats (Ha:shañ Ke:k)
- St. John's
- Santa Cruz (Hia-t-ab)
- Santan/Santa Ana (Santan)
- Stotonic (S-totoñigk)
- Sweetwater (S-iʼovĭ Shu:dagĭ)
- Vahki (Va'akih)
- Wet Camp Village
Transportation
The community owns and operates Gila River Memorial Airport, a small, private-use airport, located 4 miles southwest of the central business district of Chandler. It was used for cropdusting and air charter operations, with no scheduled commercial services. The airport is no longer used and is in a state of total abandonment. The community also operates Gila River Transit, a public transit system serving all seven districts.
I-10 was built through the southeast to north-central portion of Gila River lands, bringing significant highway traffic through the area.
Laws
The Constitution and Bylaws of the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona was ratified by the tribe January 22, 1960, and approved by the US Secretary of the Interior on March 17, 1960. It is available online.<ref>United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Constitution and Bylaws of the Gila River Indian Community, Arizona</ref>
The current Gila River legal code was enacted in 2009. Amendments enacted 15 May 2013, are available online.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Gila River Indian Community Police Department is responsible for law enforcement within the Gila River Indian Community<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One officer of the Gila River Indian Community Police Department has been killed in the line of duty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Marriage law
Gila River does not recognize marriages performed elsewhere in the state of Arizona. On July 15, 2015, in response to the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States, the Community Council passed a motion by a vote of 14 to 2 that the gendered language of the Gila River marriage code meant that same-sex marriage was not recognized: Template:Blockquote
Economic development
The tribe own Wild Horse Pass Resort and Casino in Chandler and Veee Quiva Resort and Casino in Laveen Village, Arizona.<ref name=itca/>
Notable Gila River Community people
- Beulah Archuletta (1909–1969), née Donahue, was Pee-Posh (Maricopa) and an actress.<ref>Beulah Archuletta played "Look" in The Searchers. Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ira Hayes (1923–1955), one of the six Marines depicted in the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photograph.
- Jay Morago (1917–2008), served as the first governor of the Gila River Indian Community from 1954 until 1960 and helped to draft the reservation's 1960 constitution.<ref name=azr>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=cgvn>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Mary Thomas (1944–2014), was the first woman elected as Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, serving from 1994 until 2000.<ref name=azcentral/>
- Natalie Diaz (born 1978), Pulitzer-prize winning poet, educator, and activist
See also
References
- Gila River Reservation, Arizona United States Census Bureau
External links
Template:Indian reservations in Arizona Template:Pinal County, Arizona Template:Maricopa County, Arizona Template:Phoenix Metropolitan Area Template:Power stations in Arizona Template:Authority control