Mel Tonasket reflects on 55 Years in Indian Country

Mel Tonasket says the modern history of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is defined by a single turning point: the decision to reject federal termination, and the decades of work that followed to rebuild tribal sovereignty and influence.

In a wide-ranging interview with Austin Jenkins on TVW’s “Inside Olympia,” the former Colville chairman traced his path from a young activist to a national tribal leader, crediting mentor Lucy Covington — the tribe’s first woman chair — for setting him on that course. After observing inequities while working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tonasket began questioning local institutions, which caught Covington’s attention.

“She almost single-handedly saved our tribe,” he said. “I’m just lucky enough that I got to hang on to her apron strings and follow her and take her orders.”

That mentorship quickly put him at the center of a defining moment. On his first day on the tribal council in 1970, Tonasket made a motion to remove a BIA superintendent sent to strip the tribe of federal recognition and its sovereign status or, in the language of the day, terminate it. A second motion opposed termination outright, setting the stage for a narrow and strategic fight to preserve tribal status.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/04/20/mel-tonasket-reflects-on-55-years-in-indian-country/