Rex Lee Jim, an American Navajo politician who served as Vice President of the Navajo Nation, died February 24, 2026, at age 63. His cause of death was undisclosed. Jim was widely known for his work to strengthen Navajo education and for international advocacy on Indigenous rights.
Jim served as vice president from 2011 to 2015 alongside President Ben Shelly. As part of the administration’s work, he promoted health initiatives and addressed Navajo public finance issues, including testimony on the future of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund. On February 16, 2012, he testified at a U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing focused on energy development in Indian Country.
Born and raised in Rock Point, Arizona, Jim represented Rock Point as a member of the 21st Navajo Nation Council and served on the Public Safety Committee. He also built a career in education at Rock Point Community School, teaching K–12 and helping develop culturally aligned curricula for Navajo learners, including graduate-level programs. He was fluent in Navajo, English, and Spanish.
Jim was also recognized as a Diné poet and traditional medicine man who learned Blessing Way ceremonies from his grandparents and used that knowledge to help community members. His public service extended to Indigenous diplomacy, including work connected to the United Nations and as a representative of the Carter Foundation with outreach to Indigenous nations in Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. He later helped organize Diné College planning on sovereignty and legal education, including a two-day law school symposium reported in 2019, and he left a written record in Áhí Ni’ Nikisheehiish (1989) and Saad (1995).