“I had to get that water no matter what. I think it took me 26 years to get the water, but we did.”

The Ak-Chin Indian Community’s water settlement was the first of its kind, and it took a generation of leadership to bring it home. At the center of that work was Leona Kakar, Ak-Chin’s first female chairman, who served as Farm Board Chairman for more than 50 years and who her own community calls the greatest of all time.

This story follows a Tribal Nation that began farming on its own in the early 1960s, advocated for the federal trust responsibility to be honored through the courts, and built one of the most successful Tribal farming operations in the Southwest. Today, Ak-Chin cultivates 16,000 acres, employs 70 full-time staff, and grows crops that feed markets across the region.

Featuring Leona Kakar and Ak-Chin Indian Community leadership.