Bobby Stone, Vice Chair

Robert “Bobby” Stone is an enrolled member of the Akimel O’otham (Gila River Indian Community). Bobby is known as a spiritual leader, traditional singer, traditional farmer, artist, and indigenous seeds and food advocate. He is a culture and language instructor, and a former Council Member and Lt. Governor for Gila River Indian Community. Bobby is also a traditional Akimel O'otham (Pima) singer and sings with his fellow O'otham singers. He also enjoys farming/gardening, rattle gourd painting and gourd bowl painting.

Bobby attended Central Arizona College in Coolidge Arizona where he earned a degree in Agriculture Technology, and then continued to pursue his agricultural studies at University of Arizona. In advocating for indigenous seeds, crops and foods, Bobby has worked with Native Seeds/SEARCH, the Pueblo Grande Museum, Southwest Indian Agriculture Association, Intertribal Agriculture Council, Phoenix Indian Center, Tucson Indian Center, and various school districts, and other organizations. 

Early in Bobby’s life, his family’s multi-generational subsistence farming taught him the skills to have a healthy and industrious life and practice traditional food production. Not only does he grow crops but he saves the seeds, shares the seeds, and shares his knowledge with school children, indigenous organizations, his community, and the general public. public. He is passionate about collaborating with indigenous people and communities on growing, protecting, preserving, and educating about indigenous food sovereignty.

Bobby has been a life-long farmer whether its large-scale farming, small farms, or gardening and he maintains a seed bank with an array of indigenous crops. His current projects include increasing his gourd production for gourd rattles and gourd painting, increasing his heritage grain seed stock of wheat and barley, growing and increasing his seed of aboriginal pima cotton plus a variety of natural colored cotton.