Mel Tonasket reflects on 55 Years in Indian Country • Washington State Standard

Mel Tonasket reflects on 55 Years in Indian Country • Washington State Standard

Mel Tonasket, former chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, seen during an interview on TVW's "Inside Olympia." (Photo by Paul Taylor/TVW)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 …