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- By Levi Rickert
Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis was named on Tuesday to the 2024 Time100 Climate 2024. The list features the 100 most influential leaders driving business to real climate action from around the globe.
Gov. Lewis is in company in this prestigious list that includes: the president of the World Bank Ajay Banga, founder of Travalyst Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, actor Rosario Dawson, founder of TerraPower Bill Gates, United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, film producer Adam McKay, CEO and president of Lego Niels Christiansen, general council for the Yurok Tribe Amy Bowers Cordalis.
As the governor of the Gila River Indian Community, which is located south of Phoenix, Arizona, he presides over its reservation that has a land area of 583.749 square miles and a 2020 Census population of over 14,000 tribal citizens.
During the 2024 presidential election, Gov. Lewis was on stage to speak at a Harris-Walz rally in Phoenix.
Additionally, Gov. Lewis has served as the secretary of the National Congress of Americans (NCAI) and serves on the Heard Museum’s American Indian Advisory Committee.
Currently, in his third term serving as governor of the Gila River Indian Community, Gov. Lewis Introduced innovative solutions to long-standing challenges that will deliver lasting benefits for the Gila River Indian Community. One such initiative, the Management Aquifer Recharge sites, addresses the need for reliable water access while simultaneously restoring the Community's riparian areas—crucial for farming and the revitalization of local wildlife populations.
TIME writes:
Stephen Roe Lewis is doing something that has never been achieved before in the Western Hemisphere: turning canals into solar-power systems. As Governor of the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, he is spearheading his vision of a “blue-green economy” that prioritizes conserving water and producing renewable energy, with the ultimate goal of becoming a net-zero tribe.
In the Q & A section of the article that features Gov. Lewis, he told the magazine:
“Speak to your Indigenous leaders in your countries around the world. I have worked and collaborated with many and I think it is fair to say that tribal leaders are committed to the values of climate activism in a deep way and have an innovative sense and approach that will prove valuable.”
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