It is with sadness and deep respect that I share with you the passing of Ronnie Lupe, former chairman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, on Monday, August 12.
Chairman Lupe was elected tribal leader in 1966 after serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. He went on to hold the role of Chairman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe for 36 years, and served in office for more than 54 years.
As Chairman, Lupe testified in the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions for the passage of legislation to protect the tribe’s clean drinking water. He also signed and helped put together the “Statement of Relationship” policy in 1994, between the tribe and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which recognized “the tribe’s aboriginal rights, sovereign authority and institutional capacity to self-manage its lands.”
Dr. Mathu Santosham, Director Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, first met Chairman Lupe when he traveled to Whiteriver, Arizona in 1979 to help the Tribe address diarrheal diseases with oral rehydration therapy.
Since that first meeting, a deep friendship formed and continued over the decades. Over the years, Chairman Lupe became a stalwart supporter of advancing public health solutions for the White Mountain Apache people in partnership with Johns Hopkins University. In fact, he provided an inaugural blessing when Dr. Santosham founded the Center for American Indian Health in 1991 (see photo).
Dr. Santosham said the following about former chairman Lupe:
“Ronnie was a dear friend to me, my wife Pat, our children, Vaz and Shireen, and the Center. He had a remarkable vision for the Apache people, and he was an inspired leader. He demanded that the cultural values of the Apache people always came first, while being open to innovations and new solutions to advance well-being.”
Chairman Lupe retired in 2018 when Gwendena Lee-Gatewood, who had directed Communications for the Chairman’s past administrations, was elected as the Tribe’s first female Chairwoman. We were moved by Chairwoman Lee-Gatewood’s comments about Chairman Lupe and wanted to share them with you:
“The White Mountain Apache Tribe has lost one of its greatest leaders this morning. Former Chairman Ronnie Lupe had an illustrious career in the development of the Tribe and Indian Country. Today he’s gone home and we’ve lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth.
“He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages. Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Ronnie Lupe, transformed the tribe and moved us all. It has been an honor and privilege to work for him. I remain forever grateful for his teachings, vision and philosophy. He will be missed.”
For more information about Chairman Ronnie Lupe’s esteemed life, please click here.
Our hearts go out to the people of the White Mountain Apache Tribe during this time, and honor this remarkable humanitarian.