Former Arizona state senator and member of the Navajo Nation Council Jack Jackson, Sr. has died.
He represented the Fort Defiance Agency on the council in the 1980s, then spent 14 years in the Arizona House of Representatives and later served in the state Senate for five years.
Jackson helped establish Arizona Indian Legislative Day, which gives Arizona’s 22 tribal nations the opportunity to have their voices heard.
Jackson was also instrumental in advocating for tribal education funding at the state capitol.
He founded the Navajo Medicine Men Association as well as the All Indian Rodeo Cowboy Association.
Navajo Speaker Crystalyne Curley calls Jackson a beloved leader and an outstanding representative of the Navajo people.