The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) (

O'odham language The O'odham peoples, including the Tohono O'odham, the Pima or Akimel O'odham, and the Hia C-ed O'odham, are indigenous Uto-Aztecan peoples of the Sonoran desert in southern and central Arizona and northern Sonora, united by a common heritage ...

: Keli Akimel Oʼotham, ''meaning "Gila River People"'',

Maricopa language Maricopa or Piipaash is spoken by the Native American Maricopa people on two reservations in Arizona: the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community. Most speakers live in Maricopa Colony. The language is cons ...

: Pee-Posh) is an

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, lying adjacent to the south side of the city of

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, within the

Phoenix Metropolitan Area The Phoenix Metropolitan Area – also the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, or Metro Phoenix (known by most locals simply as “the Valley”) – is the largest metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States, centered on the city ...

in Pinal and

Maricopa Maricopa can refer to: Places * Maricopa, Arizona, United States, a city ** Maricopa Freeway, a piece of I-10 in Metropolitan Phoenix ** Maricopa station, an Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona * Maricopa County, Arizona, United States * Marico ...

counties.

Gila River Indian Reservation Gila River Indian Reservation was a reservation established in 1859 by the United States government in New Mexico Territory, to set aside the lands of the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and the Piipaash (Maricopa) people along the Gila River, in what i ...

was established in 1859, and the Gila River Indian Community formally established by Congress in 1939. The community is home for members of both the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and the Pee-Posh (Maricopa) tribes. The reservation has a land area of and a 2020 Census population of 14,260. It is made up of seven districts along the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of n ...

and its largest communities are

Sacaton , native_name_lang = ood , settlement_type = CDP , image_skyline = Sacaton-Cook Memorial Church-1870-1.JPG , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = The C. H. Cook Memorial Church, listed in the National ...

, Komatke, Santan, and Blackwater. Tribal administrative offices and departments are located in Sacaton. The Community operates its own telecom company, electric utility, industrial park and healthcare clinic, and publishes a monthly newspaper. It has one of the highest rates of Type 2

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

in the world, around 50% of the population. The community has voluntarily contributed to Type 2 diabetes research, by participating in many studies of the disease. Sacaton

Government

Under their constitution, tribal members elect a governor and lieutenant governor

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

. They also elect 16 council members, from single-member districts or sub-districts with roughly equal populations.

Officials listing

* Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor * Robert Stone, Lt. Governor * Arzie Hogg, Council Member, Dist 1 * Joey Whitman, Council Member, Dist 1 * Carol A. Schurz, Council Member, Dist 2 * Carolyn Williams, Council Member, Dist 3 * Rodney Jackson, Council Member, Dist 3 * Barney B. Enos Jr., Council Member, Dist 4 * Pamela Johnson, Council Member, Dist 4 * Jennifer Allison, Council Member, Dist 4 * Monica Antone, Council Member, Dist 4 * Janice Stewart, Council Member, Dist 5 * Thomas White, Council Member, Dist 5 * Lawrence White, Council Member, Dist 5 * Marlin Dixon, Council Member, Dist 5 * Charles Goldtooth, Council Member, Dist 6 * Anthony Villareal Sr., Council Member, Dist 6 * Terrance Evans, Council Member, Dist 6 * Devin C. Redbird, Council Member, Dist 7

Attractions

The first casino opened in 1994. Ira H. Hayes Memorial Library The Ira H. Hayes Memorial Library is located in District 3 in Sacaton, and provides a variety of services to the community.

Current communities

* Bapchule (''Pihpchul'') * Blackwater (''Chukma Shuhthagi'') * Casa Blanca * Co-op Village (''Chichino'') * Gila Crossing (''Kuiva'') * Goodyear (''Valin Thak'') * Komatke (''Komadk'') * Maricopa Colony * Sacate Village *

(''Ge'e Kih'') * Sacaton Flats (''Hahshani Kehk'') * St. John's * Santa Cruz (''Hia-t-ab'') * Santan/Santa Ana (''Santan'') * Stotonic (''S-totonigk'') * Sweetwater (''S-iʼovi Shuhthagi'') * Vahki (''Va'akih'') * Wet Camp Village

Lone Butte Ranch

Lone Butte Ranch () is a

populated place Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

situated in the community. It has an estimated elevation of above sea level.

Transportation

The community owns and operates

Gila River Memorial Airport Gila River Memorial Airport was a private-use airport owned and operated by the Gila River Indian Community, located southwest of the central business district of Chandler, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It was used for cropdust ...

, 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 operate
Gila River Transit
a

public transit system Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

serving all seven districts.

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

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. The current Gila River legal code was enacted in 2009. Amendments enacted 15 May, 2013, are available online.

Marriage law

Gila River does not recognize marriages performed elsewhere in the state of Arizona. On 15 July 2015, in response to the

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection ...

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:

Notable people

* Beulah Archuletta (1909–1969), née Donahue, was Pee-Posh (Maricopa) and an actress. Beulah Archuletta played "Look" in

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

. *

Ira Hayes Ira Hamilton Hayes (January 12, 1923 – January 24, 1955) was an Akimel O'odham Native American and a United States Marine during World War II. Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community, located in Pinal and Maricopa ...

(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 A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Gila River Indian Community from 1954 until 1960 and helped to draft the reservation's 1960

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. * Mary Thomas (1944-2014), was the first woman elected as Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, serving from 1994 until 2000. *

Natalie Diaz Natalie may refer to: People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * Shahan Natalie Shahan Natalie ( hy, Շահան Նաթալի; July 14, 1884 – April 19, 1983) was an Armenian wri ...

(1978-), pulitzer-prize winning poet, educator, and activist

References

Gila River Reservation, Arizona
United States Census Bureau

External links

Gila River Indian Community Website

Gila River Indian Community Tourist Attractions
{{Coord, 33, 09, 16, N, 111, 55, 36, W, scale:500000, display=title Apache Pima (Native American) Federally recognized tribes in the United States Gila River Geography of Maricopa County, Arizona Geography of Pinal County, Arizona 1859 establishments in the United States States and territories established in 1859