By Corvo Rohwer, Puyallup Tribal News
In anticipation of the upcoming 2026 World Cup, members of the Puyallup Tribe’s World Cup Team were invited to host a panel session during the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport annual conference in Seattle on Nov. 7.
The NASSS focuses on the study of sociology and culture within sports, and invited the Puyallup Tribe to talk about its involvement as the Official Legacy Sponsor of the 2026 World Cup. Panel participants included World Cup Project Director Amy McFarland, Project Manager Dayleann Hawks, Multi-Media Developer Hope Sandstrom and Heritage Division Manager Connie McCloud (sɫupayqʷuʔ).
Virtual and in-person attendees heard first-hand accounts about how the ongoing partnership and collaboration with the local organizing committee came to be, along with discussion on how the Tribe is putting legacy, culture and language at the forefront. McFarland began by explaining how the Tribe initially got connected with the partnership through both its connections to local sports entities and a friendship between Tribal Council Chairman Bill Sterud and SeattleFWC26 CEO Peter Tomozawa.
“When the conversation of the World Cup started to emerge, our Council Chairman said, ‘I want to be the first call that you (Tomozawa) make should that message come true’. And so, all the way from Dubai, the Chairman’s phone began to ring with Peter on the other end of it, saying, we’re coming to Seattle. And he lived up to that promise that he made him,” McFarland said.
McCloud shared stories from her perspective during previously completed projects within the partnership, and expressed how it has been important to her that Puyallup Tribal culture be represented within the collaborative works.
“Our Tribal Council Chairman, Bill Sterud, said ‘We want to put Puyallup Tribal culture on stage to the world.’ And I told myself, you can’t do that without us — us meaning having our Language Program, our Historic Preservation Program and our Cultural Program involved,” McCloud said. “We want to put our best foot forward when sharing with the world.”
Having Tribal Members directly involved with the project is one step toward that goal, and Sandstrom said their team is always looking for ways to include txʷəlšucid to increase language visibility on a grand scale. One opportunity came with the SEA&WIN mobile app, which will encourage World Cup visitors to tour various small businesses and points of interest in Washington, including the Puyallup Reservation.
“Even just a few years ago, I never imagined that our language would be at this level, where we have people coming from all over the world, and just by simply using a little app, they’re going to hear words like yəháwʼ (proceed; let’s go),” Sandstrom said.
The session concluded with the panel fielding questions from the audience regarding the partnership, with discussions largely focusing on why it was impactful for the Tribe to be able to hold the position of Official Legacy Supporter for the 2026 World Cup. Offering up her perspective, Hawks said this partnership has opened doors for the Tribe to be able to share its story with the world and connect to other cultures.
“This is an opportunity for us to create unity globally. We have the opportunity to reach our hands out and touch someone else’s hands and share that spiritual unity,” Hawks said. “It’s also an opportunity for us to heal, to create that healing of all of the things that were taken from us and to show that we have fought to keep this culture alive. To show that we are bringing back our Native languages, our Native medicines, our traditional ceremonies and our regalia.”
For more information regarding the 2026 World Cup, visit www.puyalluptribe-nsn.gov/fifa-world-cup-2026/.
