Committee on Minorities and Women in the Law Award

This award, selected by the Committee on Minorities and Women in the Law, honors activities furthering diversity and equal opportunity goals of the Committee.

2012 Recipient

Native American attorney Rodney Lewis, a Pima-enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community, has made history on a state and national level.

He received his M.A. in 1969 from Arizona State University and his J.D from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1972. He was the first member of an Arizona Indian tribe to become a member of the State Bar of Arizona, where he became the founding chair of the Indian Law Section.

Rod worked tirelessly for the Gila River Indian Community in successfully negotiating the single largest Indian water rights settlement in U.S. history. The Gila River Water Settlement was part of a much larger and more complex deal, resulting in the Arizona Water Rights Settlements Act of 2004.

Rod has dedicated the majority of his legal career to his community, serving as general counsel of the Gila River Indian Community for 33 years. He was the first member of an Indian tribe to appear and argue, successfully, before the U.S. Supreme Court (Central Machinery v. Arizona State Tax Commission, 1980). A consultant to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Rod also advises American Indian tribes on various federal and state public policy issues.

Previous Recipients

The award has been presented to: