Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community addresses the Democratic presidential rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 9, 2024. Photo: Gage Skidmore
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community opened the Democratic presidential rally with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in Glendale, Arizona, on August 9, 2024.
Lewis delivered a land acknowledgment at the event. It took place at the Desert Diamond Arena, whose naming rights are owned by the Tohono O’odham Nation, which operates the Desert Diamond Casino across the street.
“Acknowledging O’otham and Pee Posh jeved/lands and welcoming the next President and Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!” Lewis wrote in a post on social media.
Lewis was considered to be part of the pre-program at the rally, according to the Harris campaign. Most news networks and livestreams did not carry his full remarks.
A portion of his remarks [MP3: Stephen Roe Lewis] follow:
But above all, the Creator has blessed us with the wisdom of our elders, our veterans, yes,
the women whose strength carries our communities, and our children that give us the vision for our future.As we gather here tonight, we acknowledge that there is strength in the collective. All of us together, when we come together with one voice, when we come together with one voice, our strength is multiplied. Our actions create a greater good.
Tonight, here in Arizona, here on O’odham lands, we are bound together in support of Vice President Harris and Governor Walz because together they represent a brighter future for Arizona, a brighter future for Indian Country, and a brighter future for our country.
Tonight, we honor the past. But we look toward the future, because we aren’t going back to a time when our women were not protected.
We aren’t going back to a time of divisiveness. We aren’t going back to a time when each and every one of us could not participate in a fair and equal democracy.
So let us all, let us all come together. Let us all come together tonight, on our O’odham lands to commit to our future, and let’s bring Arizona home for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the next president and vice president of these United States.
Lewis was among nine speakers who took the stage before Harris and Walz. The official campaign livestream started with Ruben Gallego, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives who is running for the U.S. Senate.
The Governor of the Gila River Indian Community Stephen Roe Lewis kicks off Friday’s campaign rally for VP Harris and Gov. Walz — getting loud cheers after acknowledging the arena is located on O’odham tribal lands. #NativeVote24 pic.twitter.com/bvYMiZDj3j
— Aliyah Chavez (@AliyahJChavez) August 9, 2024
Additional Photos
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community addresses the Democratic presidential rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 9, 2024. Photo: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community addresses the Democratic presidential rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 9, 2024. Photo: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community addresses the Democratic presidential rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 9, 2024. Photo: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)
