The Tulalip Tribe of Washington state is mourning the November 5 passing of its longtime chairman and elder Stan Jones.
Jones was chairman of the tribe for 26 years, until 2010, serving a total of 44 years on the tribal board of directors. When he began, in 1966, the tribe had three employees. When he retired, it had 3,800.
A current board member, Mel Sheldon Jr., told the North County Outlook, “I think the greatest thing about Stan is that he was always willing to sit down and listen. That’s why he was our leader for so many years, because he always had time for tribal members.”
Jones was a passionate leader for the tribe. “He was a hard fighter for the tribe,” former board member Don Hatch told the Outlook. “He was there to make sure the tribe got what was owed to them and maintain what we have.” He added, “On the fishing issue, he always fought hard.”
Jones helped draft and lobbied for a bill that helped bring about the Tulalip Resort Casino. Later the tribe developed the Quil Ceda Village and other enterprises such as the Tulalip Gas Station.
One tribal member said of Jones, “Stan has often been referred to as a chief here, and he was our chief for many years. That’s the way we are going to honor him at the funeral.”
