Apache scholar and former Yavapai-Apache Tribal Council Chairman Vincent Randall has died. Randall’s family says he passed away Dec. 16.
He was a member of the Yavapai-Apache Nation and served as the Tribe’s cultural director. In 1962, Randall first served on the Tribal Council as a delegate and later as chairman. He was also a teacher and scholar.
The Sedona Red Rock News reports, Randall was born in Clarkdale and lived his entire life in his ancestral homeland within the Verde River watershed. He attended Northern Arizona University, taught science at the Clarkdale-Jerome School, and served on numerous boards, including the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, the Association of American Indian Affairs, and the Working Group of Allied Apaches Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Randall was part of a group of Tribal elders committed to preserving Western Apache culture and documenting traditional Apache place names across Arizona.