Tulalip Tribal Leader Stanley G. Jones Sr., "Scho-Hallem"
Paperback, 156 pages
Color and black-and-white photographs
Self published
$25
Tulalip Tribal Leader Stanley Gayle Jones Sr.'s importance
to both the culture and economy of the Tulalip Tribes is undisputed. "Our
Way" Hoy yud dud is his autobiography.
Born July 10, 1926, "on the three hundred
block of Madison Avenue, three blocks south of the flag pole that is currently
on Main Street in Monroe, Washington" (Jones p. 6) Jones is a descendant
of the Snohomish (Stahobsh), Snoqualmie, Squaxin, Skykomish, Clallam, and
Stoc-welee-jub tribes. Scho-Hallem is
his Stahobsh name.
When his mother died in 1929, Stan's father moved the family
to the Tulalip Reservation to be near relatives. Stan recalls his childhood on the
reservation, during the Great Depression, when Native people were extremely
poor and discriminated against. Stan's
father found jobs in logging, fishing, and carpentry. At 9 years old, Stan, two brothers, and a
sister contracted tuberculosis and were taken to Cushman Hospital in Tacoma. Miles from Tulalip, they were isolated from
friends and family and treated as boarding school students, forced to attend
classes and often punished. His brother
Jack died there. Stan recovered and returned
to the Tulalip Reservation where he took part in various sports and at 17 began
commercial fishing with his father.
That same year an underage Stan joined the Marine Corps as a
reserve in World War II and when he turned 18 he was assigned to a tank
battalion in the South Pacific where he served for two years. Resuming civilian life at Tulalip, he married
JoAnn Barrie in 1950. They lived for a
time in Tacoma, Seattle, and Valdez, Alaska, moving to Tulalip in 1951.
Stan Jones Sr. has the distinction of being the longest
serving Tulalip Tribes board member, 44 years, half of which he spent as chairman. Under his visionary
leadership, the Tribes were participants in testimony leading to the Boldt
decision, and he was a strong leader in establishing the Tribes in real estate
and gaming, thus providing opportunities for tribal members. At the same time, Jones helped to revive tribal
history and culture, including the traditional Salmon Ceremony, the relearning
of Lushootseed (the Tribes' native language), the yearly Canoe Journey, and the
establishment of the Hibulb Cultural Center.
"Our Way"
is a series of stories about events in Stan Jones Sr.'s life, though it is not
only his autobiography but the history of the Tulalip Tribes in his lifetime. Some of
the stories are drawn from handwritten journal notes that he kept during the
1970s. The book has 24 chapters. Chapter 19 deals with a topic Stan knows well,
Tulalip Tribes economic development from a small Tulalip Smoke Shop and land
rentals to today's QuilCeda Village mall and the Tulalip casinos.
During his years as tribal chairman, Stan Jones' advice was
sought by national and international leaders and he became a world traveler,
representing the Tulalip Tribes. He
attended a Bureau of Indian Affairs-sponsored timber symposium in China; performed ceremonies in India and New Zealand;
spoke at a Geneva Convention in Switzerland on treaties and environmental
issues; served on various committees at a national level and had his picture
taken with many state, national and international political leaders.
"Our Way"
is Stan Jones's personal story, his family's story, and the Tulalip Tribes'
story. But in addition, it is an
important American story and should be a must
read for those interested in the history of Northwest Indians from the
1920s to the early years of the twenty-first century. Jones writes:
"Hoy yud dud means our way.
Everybody has their own way to do things, such as worship and pray and
many are very different from each other, and we respect the difference."
The book was self published and has illustrations on nearly every page, many in color. It is available through the Hibulb Cultural Center at Tulalip.
--By Margaret Riddle, February 6, 2012
