Adrian M. Brown is a member of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, located in Alpine, CA — one of the nation’s most respected gaming tribes for its entrepreneurial success and political advocacy of economic sovereignty, and for the example it has set for tribal government businesses throughout the nation.

Councilman Brown was born in El Cajon, CA, and raised with his mother’s tribe on the Viejas Indian Reservation in San Diego’s East County.  After graduating from Granite Hills High School, Councilman Brown joined the U.S. Army where he served as an M1A1 Tank Driver. He was then deployed to Southwest Asia for the first Persian Gulf Conflict and earned his combat patch from the 11th Armored Calvary Regiment.  After an honorable discharge in 1993, he attended Haskell Indians Nations University in Lawrence, KS where he studied Telecommunications, with emphasis on Television Production. As a college student, Councilman Brown was heavily involved in local and national political issues, lobbying Congress on several Native American and local issues.

After completing the college’s television program, Councilman Brown returned to San Diego for a vibrant career in music. His involvement in television production led to handling the promotion and management of artists for almost two decades. Councilman Brown has worked with such notables as Sprung Monkey, Funkdoobiest, and the artist who defined his company, reggae legend Eek-A-Mouse — all while staying close to his cultural roots and promoting contemporary as well as traditional Native American Music. This combined effort earned Councilman Brown the Musician’s Advocate Award from the American Society of Young Musicians in 2004. He then went on to win the Producers Award for The Red Corn Band’s ‘Still No Good’ album at The Native American Music Awards in 2008. After a successful career in the music business, Councilman Brown focused on the future of his tribe and turned his efforts back to politics and public administration.

Councilman Brown was elected to the Viejas Tribal Council and took office as Tribal Councilman in 2013. He was recently re-elected for a four-year term that began in January of 2019. Councilman Brown has worked to increase the political strength of his tribe and Indian Country; an effort that puts him in the company of some of the country’s most influential leaders on a regular basis. He also serves as the veterans’ liaison for his Tribe, where he works tirelessly to make sure their sacrifices do not go unrecognized.  American Indians serve in their country’s armed forces in greater numbers per capita than any other ethnic group, and they have served with distinction in every major conflict for over 200 years.
Councilman Brown has also pushed for the social and cultural resurgence of his Tribe and Indian Country. As expected, his entertainment roots still surface as he has heavily supported visual and performing arts on behalf of his Tribe. In fact, Brown has directed and produced several short films honoring his Tribe’s veterans, and two of those films were recognized by the American Indian Film Institute-San Francisco and California’s American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival-San Marcos.  He has also started planting the filmmaking bug into his Tribe’s youth by bringing in a summer Youth Filmmaking Workshop for the last five years.  “Art is culture: it builds character, instills confidence and leads to success within a tribe.”

Councilman Brown has been married to Fawn Lily Brown, a member of the Yakama Tribe (WA), since 1996 and, coincidentally, a member of a prominent music, film and political family in Indian Country. They have four children: daughters MorningStorm and MistyEve, and sons Adrian Kenyon and Nijel Lee, and their first grandchild was born in December of 2018, Mika Mungia-Brown.  The family lives in Alpine, CA on the Viejas Indian Reservation, along with his extended family.