Charles William Blackwell, Esquire will forever be remembered for his tireless service to American Indian movements. Blackwell, a premier career attorney as a graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law, was appointed as the first Chickasaw Ambassador to the United States - a position he held until his passing in 2013. 

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In addition to his love and practice of the law to forward First Nations progress, Blackwell was the founder of the First American Business Center to promote U.S. Indigenous economic development and entrepreneurship, and serving earlier as a staff attorney for the American Indian Law Center, Associate Director of the Special Scholarship Program in-law for American Indians, and as the Assistant Dean and Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Eventually, Blackwell served on the Western Governors States Drought Coordination Coalition, the presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (a President Clintion appointee). 

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Blackwell was the recipient of the Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement by the National Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce - Minority Business Development Agency in 2007.

(SOURCE: https://tinyurl.com/3stzzfke)

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He was pinnacle in inspiring the primary founders of AIDA to launch an organization specific to American Indian / U.S. Indigenous research in diabetes and diabetes related support: 

 

 "About 20 or so years ago, my mother and I were in Washington DC lobbying Congress for Special Tribal Diabetes funding. At the time, I served as a volunteer with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), actively sitting on the Awakening the Spirit board. I did feel like a 'token Indian' on that board, truth be told. We were invited to brunch by Charles Blackwell, Chickasaw Ambassador to the United States. As a long time family friend, he knew me from grade school from our shared time on the Navajo reservation. His DC office was a former residential house built in the 1700s, and overlooked The Capital - that structure alone informed me of his clout in that town. I approached him to donate to ADA. 'What a wonderful Ally for the cause he could be, (I thought)'. He was already standing when I humbly requested donations and support from him. And to my complete surprise, he said, “NO! Not until there is Indian in the ADA name“. Hence, AIDA was borne. Now with the American INDIAN Diabetes Association, or 'AIDA', we can move forward with our own singularity as First Nations peoples in our voices of knowledge and inspiration along with a community focus not found prior - all in our battle to allay Diabetes in our communities. Blackwell knew all too well back then. I later researched the ADA website and found not one mention of the Native arm that was developed when I was with them. He made his journey 2013 still serving as an influential Chickasaw Ambassador to the United States. Charles Blackwell was the man who inspired me to initiate AIDA - the American Indian Diabetes Association".

- Regina Lamar Whitewolf / Eagle Woman Looking Back (Blackfeet / Wichita), AIDA Founder