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Forests & Indigenous Leadership Manager
Tony A. (naschio) Johnson; photo by Amiran White.
Tony A. (naschio) Johnson is Chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation Tribal Council and Culture Committee. Through the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Award, Tony is being recognized as an accomplished leader for his leadership of the Chinook Indian Nation in its pursuit of federal recognition and his tireless work to revitalize the cultures and languages of tribes of the Lower Columbia River region.
Out on the water, it all comes into focus. Sitting with Tony A. (naschio) Johnson in kɬmin, one of the Chinook Indian Nation’s canoes, you see what it means to walk in the way of his ancestors.
As skipper on Canoe Journey 2025, he guides with a calm authority. We pull together to songs born of the river and the land, passed down by ancestors who traveled the same waterways generations ago. Between strokes, Tony points toward beaches and ridgelines, telling stories of historic sites and the deep connections that tether the Chinook people to these places.
Tony speaks in Chinuk Wawa as he humbly asks the local tribal leaders permission to come ashore when the canoe family arrives at each destination.
In those moments, it’s clear: Tony isn’t just preserving language, story, and tradition. He’s living them, carrying them forward for his Tribe and for generations yet to come.
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—TONY A. (NASCHIO) JOHNSON
Tony carries many roles on his shoulders: language keeper, artist, cultural bearer, and advocate for Chinook sovereignty. As Chairman of the Chinook Indian Nation, he leads a community whose federal recognition has been unjustly reversed and yet whose resilience and connection to place have never faltered.
“Sovereignty springs from your connection to your land and your ancestors,” Tony said. “And so for us, don’t ever tell us that we’re not a sovereign nation. We have not quit any of the things that sovereignty springs from.”
For his unwavering leadership of the Chinook Indian Nation in its pursuit of federal recognition and his tireless work to revitalize the cultures and languages of tribes of the Lower Columbia River region, Tony Johnson is honored with a 2025 Indigenous Leadership Award.
Born in South Bend, Wash., Tony was immersed in his tribal council and cultural life from an early age. His father, Gary Johnson, served and continues to serve on council and cultural committees, and Tony often sat in on meetings, listening to elders’ conversations. Later, he studied art and anthropology at the University of Washington and Central Washington University.
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In 2014, Tony was reelected to the Chinook Tribal Council. He has since served multiple terms as Chairman, carrying cultural, political, and social responsibilities for a membership of roughly 3,400 people. He also chairs the Tribal Cultural Committee and is deeply engaged in all aspects of Chinook life: enrollment, ceremonies, language, and advocacy for land and water rights, as well as repatriation of ancestors and cultural resources.
Outside his own community, Johnson has played a leading role in regional language and cultural revitalization. He worked with the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, where he helped launch the Chinuk Wawa language immersion program. A model school for its place-based education and family and community involvement, the program is now in its second decade of running.
“The folks that I knew well there—some have passed away—and the folks who were students—either in that programming or just direct, literal students of ours—are now running that program and continuing to expand the footprint of the language immersion at Grand Ronde,” he says. “It was my great good fortune—absolutely my pleasure—to have had that opportunity.”
But perhaps one of the most defining parts of his story is the Chinook Nation’s fight for federal recognition. In January 2001, after decades of petitioning, the Chinook were officially recognized by the U.S. government under the Clinton administration. But just 18 months later, that decision was reversed by the Bush administration. Under a political shift and narrow legal interpretations, the federal status was revoked. The change left the Tribe without access to federal resources, protections, and acknowledgment.
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—TONY A. (NASCHIO) JOHNSON
For Johnson, the denial of recognition is more than a bureaucratic decision; it is life or death. Recognition would mean access to critical resources for health, housing, and education. But beyond that, it would mean affirmation of what Chinook people already know to be true: their sovereignty and existence as a people.
“This is a life-and-death fight that we are involved in,” Tony said. “This need for federal recognition is not being done because there’s some little goal in mind. This is the literal existence, or not, of a culture and community.”
Despite this ongoing battle, Johnson leads with patience, hope, and resilience. He speaks Chinuk Wawa at community events and continues to teach younger generations. He creates art rooted in Chinook traditions. He steers canoes across ancestral waters, keeping alive the practices that his people have carried for generations.
“Chinook needs to be properly seated as a federally recognized tribe at the mouth of Columbia River. Period,” Tony said. “That will allow us to stop this free fall that’s been happening, and let us start to turn the corner towards healing.”
Tony A. (naschio) Johnson speaking at the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Awards.
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Celebrate this year’s awardees in a ceremony at the Redd on Salmon Street on October 15, 2025!
We warmly welcome friends, family, partners, and community members to join us at the Redd on Salmon Street for this special occasion.
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A celebration of the determination, wisdom, and continuum of Indigenous leadership across the region.
