Veronica Homer ‘broke historic barriers’
Joaqlin Estus
ICT
The first woman president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and a former vice-chair of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, has died.
Veronica Homer, Mohave, was also a co-founding board member of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations, a former Miss Indian Arizona, and held national and regional positions for the U.S. Department of Interior. She died on March 5 at age 80.
NCAI President Mark Macarro, of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, in a prepared statement, highlighted her role as both a “trailblazer and a relentless advocate for the unity and strength of all Tribal Nations.”
Macarro said, “At just 34, Homer broke historic barriers as the first woman to helm NCAI, setting new precedents with her visionary leadership and championing self-determination. Her lifelong dedication to serving her community and her advocacy on issues such as the federal recognition process, the restoration of traditional lands, and the protection of tribal sovereignty demonstrated her deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing tribal communities.
“Beyond her NCAI Presidency, Homer was a symbol of grace and resilience, growing up in a family of activists on the Colorado River Indian Tribes’ Reservation and later serving as Vice Chair of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Her roles within NCAI, including Phoenix Area Regional Vice President and Recording Secretary, underscored her relentless advocacy on behalf of Tribal Nations,” he said.
Homer was elected by tribal delegates to the position of NCAI president in 1977. At the time, tribes were engrossed in discussions about the requirements for tribes to gain federal recognition. So said author Mark E. Miller, in Forgotten Tribes: Unrecognized Indians and the Federal Acknowledgement Process.
Rather than leaving federal recognition to the courts or to acts of Congress, Homer favored the Bureau of Indian Affairs documentation process, “like many others who were skeptical about newly organized groups misappropriating Native American heritage,” Miller said.
Federal policies had only recently begun restoring traditional lands and sovereignty to Native nations after an era of termination. According to the Rapid City Journal, Homer was concerned that liberal federal recognition policies would trigger backlash from mainstream culture.
Homer expressed the feelings of many reservation-based tribes, Miller said, when she stated, “We need to secure a process under which those tribes that are valid tribes are recognized by the federal government, however we must make sure that the proper safeguards are incorporated in policy and law to protect the sovereign status of tribes.”
During her tenure (1977-1978), NCAI recommended 12 principles for federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that became the basis for regulations guiding the process to this day.
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Earlier in her career, she brought new energy to her own tribe, according to a 1969 Arizona Republic article. As the Colorado River Indian Tribes’ vice-chair, Homer roused the tribes’ efforts to institute fair land use policies, and set up systems for board meetings and staff briefings.
Homer’s niece Daris Laffoon, of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, posted on Facebook, “Our Veronica set the limits and she achieved so much during her time here with us. She did so much for our family, our community and for Indian country. She lived a wonderful, gorgeous & fierce aha macav-shasta life.”
Homer was a founding board member and co-president of Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations, which posted on Facebook, “Veronica dedicated her life to serving her family, community, Tribe, and Indian Country with utmost dignity, honor, compassion, love, and grace in various roles, leaving a lasting impact on those she served….We will miss our beloved sister, but will keep her memory alive in our hearts forever.”
In 1980, Homer became a tribal operations specialist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Colorado River Agency. She transferred to Carson City, Nevada in 1987. Wikipedia said, “After two years, she was promoted as a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of Interior in Washington, D.C.. In 1994, Homer became the Superintendent of the Salt River Agency in Scottsdale, Arizona. There, she served the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community.[2]
Homer retired from federal service in 2004. She continued to serve her people until her death, however, most recently as chair of the First Things First Colorado River Indian Tribes Regional Partnership Council.
Veronica Homer was Miss Indian Arizona 1961-1962 and for the last few decades was an active member of the Miss Indian Arizona Association serving as the Historian and volunteer.
Her niece Daris Laffoon also posted on Facebook, “throughout her years on Mother Earth, she held many titles but none of them were ever greater than being a mother, grandmother, sister, auntie and friend.”
A funeral service will be held Wednesday, March 20.
Corrected March 7, to show her name as Veronica Homer, not Veronica Homer Murdock and to show her correct age as 80, not 79.
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