Oklahoma City – Ron Allen, Chairman and CEO of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, joined five other prominent Indian Country individuals to be named to the National Native American Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Allen was in good company. This year’s inductees also included Deb Haaland — the first Native American to serve as the United States Secretary of the Interior under the Biden administration. Others honored Saturday in Oklahoma City included representatives from government, sports, military, and athletics.
Chairman Allen was recognized for demonstrating “strong leadership, uncanny wisdom, and a genuine commitment to improve the lives of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples across the United States.”
A news release from the Jamestown Tribe says Chairman Allen is responsible for leading the Tribe from a zero-resource base in 1982 to a current annual budget of more than $100 million; and from a landless reservation base in 1982 to a land base of more than 1,800 acres. It notes the Tribe’s business enterprises, which include Seven Cedars Casino & Resort, The Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course, the new Salish Trails RV & Campground, their construction interests and more.
In his acceptance speech, Allen said, “It is a big honor to be inducted. We do what we do because we are driven by the spirit.”
Pictured, left to right: international champion speed skier Ross Anderson (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and Mescalero/Chiricahua Apache), former US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), who is campaigning to become New Mexico’s new governor in 2026, Dwight Birdwell (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), who was awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor for his extraordinary valor during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam; Lynn Valbuena (Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation), who has served in various leadership roles in the tribal government for 50 years, and Chairman Ron Allen. Not pictured is Notah Begay III (Navaho), a renowned golfer and celebrated sports educator, who was unable to attend.
(Photo by Mike Dashiell)