WINDOW ROCK, AZ – The 25th Navajo Nation Council has extended its condolences to the family, friends, and community of former Navajo Nation Vice President Rex Lee Jim, who passed away on Tuesday. Jim served as the Vice President from 2011 to 2015 with Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly.
“On behalf of the 25th Navajo Nation Council, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of former Vice President Rex Lee Jim,” said Speaker Crystalyne Curley. “Among his great achievements, he leaves behind a legacy of strengthening Navajo education and furthering diplomacy for Indigenous nations internationally. We pray that his family takes comfort in knowing that he is now with our Creator.”
Rex Lee Jim was born and raised in Rock Point, AZ. He was of the Red House People and born for the Red Streak Running into Water People. His maternal grandfather was of the Towering House People, and his paternal grandfather was of the Mexican People.
Throughout his life, Jim served the Diné people as an educator, cultural leader, author, and public servant. He was a poet, playwright, and traditional medicine man who was taught the Blessing Way ceremonies by his grandparents and used this knowledge to help and heal community members. He was fluent in Navajo, English, and Spanish.
He worked as an educator at Rock Point Community School, where he taught kindergarten through 12th grade and developed culturally and pedagogically appropriate curricula for Navajo students from kindergarten through graduate-level programs.
He authored Áhí Ni’ Nikisheehiish (1989) and Saad (1995), which reflected his lifelong commitment to Diné language, culture, and storytelling.
In public service, Jim represented Rock Point, AZ, as a member of the 21st Navajo Nation Council and served on the Public Safety Committee. He later served as Navajo Nation Vice President, advancing health initiatives that benefited communities across the Navajo Nation and played an integral role in testifying on the future of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund.
Jim also served Indigenous peoples internationally through diplomatic efforts with the United Nations and as a representative of the Carter Foundation. In these roles, he helped strengthen relations between the United States and Indigenous nations in the Andean countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, and contributed to the drafting of the International Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The 25th Navajo Nation Council honors the life, service, and enduring legacy of Rex Lee Jim and recognizes his lifelong dedication to the Diné people, cultural preservation, and global Indigenous advocacy.
