OKLAHOMA CITY — W. Ron Allen, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe chairman and CEO, was named to the National Native American Hall of Fame along with five other Indian Country individuals during a gala in Oklahoma City.
This year’s inductees, who also included Deb Haaland — the first Native American to serve as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior — were drawn from fields such as government, military and athletics, and were celebrated at a gala on Nov. 1.
Hall of Fame representatives noted that Allen “has demonstrated strong leadership, uncanny wisdom and a genuine commitment to improve the lives of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples across the United States.”
“It is a big honor to be inducted,” Allen said in his acceptance speech. “We do what we do because we are driven by the spirit.”
As tribal chairman (since 1977) and CEO, 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.
He also has led the tribe to establish business enterprises, including 7 Cedars Casino & Resort, The Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course, Northwest Native Expressions Art Gallery, JKT Development Inc., including JEX Excavating, Jamestown Concrete and Jamestown surveying, Salish Trails RV & Campground and Cedar Greens.
Along with Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), who is campaigning to become New Mexico’s new governor in 2026, the National Native American Hall of Fame inducted four other native standouts: Ross Anderson (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, and Mescalero/Chiricahua Apache), a national and international champion speed skier; 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 Notah Begay III (Navajo), a renowned golfer and celebrated sports educator.
For more information about the Hall of Fame inductees, visit nativehalloffame.org/ceremonies.
W. Ron Allen, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe chairman and CEO, speaks at the National Native American Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Oklahoma City on Nov. 1. (Mike Dashiell/Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe)
