Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California & Nevada

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Leadership

Timothy Williams, Chairman
Shan Lewis, Vice Chairman
Colleen Garcia, Secretary
Nichole Garcia, Council Member
Johnny Hemers, Council Member
Norvin McCord, Council Member
Cellina Reyes, Council Member

(updated February 2024)

Contact Information

Address: 500 Merriman Avenue, Needles, CA 92363

Phone: 760-629-4591

Indian Health Center Director:

Connie Hilbert connie.hilbert@fmihc.org

Education Director:

Christina Camron-Otero tribaled1@ftmojave.com

Website

GOVERNANCE: The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe is governed by a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and four council members. Council members hold staggered 3-year terms, with elections held yearly in June. Council meetings are held the second Saturday of every month. The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe is in Congressional District 4; Legislative District 5.


CONSTITUTION: 


COMMUNITY PROFILE: Mojave Indians are known as "The People by the River" (Pipa Aha Macav). Once the largest concentration of people in the Southwest, they developed well established trade networks and prosperous farms. In 1859, the United States government built a military outpost on the east bank of the Colorado River which later became known as Fort Mojave. The Fort closed in 1891 and was transformed into a boarding school. Today, the ruins of Fort Mojave are an historical landmark. 

According to the 2017-2021 U.S. Census, there are approximately 1,735 individuals living on the Fort Mojave Reservation or Trust Land. The Reservation is located along the Colorado River and spans nearly 42,000 acres in Arizona, California, and Nevada.  The majority of those acres (23,669) are in Mojave County, Arizona; 12,633 acres are adjacent to Needles, California; and 5,582 acres are in Nevada. 

The Tribe operates Avi Kwa'Ame Farms, which primarily produces cotton.  The Tribe also operates Avi Resort and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2017-2021 American Community Survey, the population of the Fort Mojave Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land (AZ-CA-NV) is 1,735. The following document provides a Census snapshot of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe with comparisons to the state of Arizona and the United States as a whole.

 

Note: When interpreting data for small populations or rural areas, it is important to note the margin of error, which is provided where possible. The margin of error can be interpreted as providing a 90 percent probability that the true value lies within the estimate plus and minus the margin of error.

First Things First is Arizona's early childhood agency, providing health screenings and a variety of services across the state. Included here are two of their reports for the La Paz/Mohave region, which includes the Arizona portion of the land belonging to the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe: