A true trailblazer in every sense of the word — that's how those who knew and worked alongside Leona Carlyle-Kakar would describe her.
Not only was she the first female to serve as chairperson for the Ak-Chin Indian Community, she is also credited with working alongside her brothers to increase the community's agricultural footprint and heralded with helping to negotiate a landmark water rights agreement - the first of its kind for any Native American community in the nation.
ABC15 went to the Ak-Chin reservation to meet with leaders and learn more about this pioneer to celebrate Women's History Month.
Driving through fields on the Ak-Chin reservation near Maricopa, you'll see pecans, potatoes, and hope.
What you see is more than former Chairperson Leona Carlyle-Kakar, who grew up in the 1930s, could have ever dreamed of.
Carlyle-Kakar passed away in April 2024 at the age of 88.
"She took pride and joy on the farm," explains Carlyle-Kakar's daughter, Raychel Peters.
Peters says her mother's older brothers recruited her to help with developing farmland on the Ak-Chin reservation. Working as a grocery store clerk at the time, Peters says it was unchartered territory for her mother, but she never shied away from challenges.
And it paid off.
Today, there are roughly 16,000 acres of farmland on the reservation.
Working on the tribal council for more than four decades and working on the Farm Board for more than half a century, it made sense for Carlyle-Kakar to become chairperson for the Ak-Chin, the first time a woman had ever held that title.
"Seeing it now, it was a huge accomplishment," explains Peters about the heights her mom was able to achieve. "She was a Native American woman, a woman doing what she needed to do...And she could fight with the best of them when she needed."
It was a skill that came in handy, especially as Carlye-Kakar was advocating for water rights in Washington.
"She just knew how important it was to get water. That's why she fought tooth and nail for that water."
In 1978, Carlyle-Kakar was part of a team that helped negotiate the beginnings of the Ak-Chin community's present-day water rights agreement. It's been amended twice since, which Carlyle-Kakar also helped oversee.
To read more about the agreement, click here.
"There were times where she said she would walk up and down the halls over there and talk to anybody who would listen," explains Peters.
"She is known as, 'Leona Legend' to me," explains former Ak-Chin Chairman Robert Miguel, who tells ABC15 he first became familiar with Carlyle-Kakar as a young boy and was instantly impressed.
"Overall, what her people meant to her and what her tribe was for...Making the lives better for not just the Ak-Chin and the Indian Community not just Arizona, but nationally... She inspired me to not be afraid to say what you need to as far as your people."
And now, as water flows through the Ak-Chin community and enriches the land, so too does the legacy of Leona.
"I am just super proud," explains Peter. "I can't even explain in words to say all the accomplishments she made."
Carlyle-Kakar will be honored this weekend as she is inducted into the Arizona Farm and Ranch Museum Hall of Fame.
The 18th annual dinner is taking place on Saturday. Other inductees include the Arizona State Cowbelles, W.T. Gladden, Orme Family/Orme Ranch, Barbara Stevenson Jackson, Ernest W. McFarland, and Jesse Hooker Davis.
To learn more, head to AZFarmAndRanch.org.
