Rodriguez, Henry Nichols, 1919-2002

Scope Note: Henry Rodriguez was born on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in 1919, and spent most of his life advocating for Native American rights and education, serving in tribal leadership positions, and preserving Native American culture. Since the 1940s, Mr. Rodriguez was a major contributor to California Indian politics and was a national authority on Indian water rights. One of the founders of the San Luis Rey Water Authority, he served as president and on the Board of Directors. Rodriguez worked with state and federal authorities on environmental protection, repatriation, and health legislation, and was instrumental to bringing healthcare to California reservations.

"Uncle Henry" Rodriguez was an important elder and preserved indigenous California culture. He began in the 1940s to document traditional Luiseno songs on reel-to-reel tapes, which are currently preserved by Grossmont College. Rodriguez served as chairman of the La Jolla Band of Mission Indians and was instrumental in establishing the Southern California Intertribal Council, now the California Tribal Chairpersons Association.

Rodriguez was an active proponent of Native American Indian education. He helped to bring Head Start to a number of reservations and served as a board member and consultant to a number of school districts, assisting to develop curriculum with more accurate representation of local Indian people. Rodriguez was significant in the establishment of Native American Indian Studies programs throughout southern California and Arizona.

Rodriguez served as one of the most significant community consultants to California State University San Marcos since the university's inception. He contributed to the organization of the university's annual Pow Wow, blessed commencement ceremonies, and participated in Native American Indian graduation ceremonies and the time capsule celebration. In recognition of his many contributions to the community and to his promotion of educational opportunities for all students, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, San Marcos conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters upon Henry Rodriguez on June 3, 2001.

Rodriguez was killed in an automobile accident on February 14, 2002 at the age of 82, and his body was cremated and his ashes scattered on reservation land. A tribute to Henry's life was held on Saturday , April 30, 2002 on the athletic field at California State University San Marcos.

(biographical note adapted from life tribute program and from San Diego Union-Tribune obituary)

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