By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
High school students from across Washington gathered at Chief Leschi Schools last week for two days of hands-on learning focused on sustainability and salmon.
The Puyallup Tribe and the University of Washington teamed up to host the 2026 Tribal Student Salmon Sustainability Summit on April 30 and May 1. Students from Chief Kitsap Academy, Muckleshoot Tribal School, Heritage High School, Neah Bay High School and Chief Leschi Schools participated in the two-day event.
Students toured the Chief Leschi Schools Food Forest/Lake Leschi, utilizing shovels and gloves in a tree planting activity. They also visited the Clarks Creek Salmon Hatchery where students fed Chinook salmon under the guidance of Fisheries Department Enhancement Chief Blake Smith.
Chief Leschi Schools CTE Natural Resources teacher Elsie Mitchell said students planted cedar trees, ponderosas, strawberries, onions and elder berries. Students also toured Mitchell’s classroom and visited the outdoor Indigenous culinary garden.
“Tribal unity is really important and to have events like this really opens kids’ minds. It is really cool,” Mitchell said.
Smiles abounded the second day of the summit as students followed Smith’s lead by tossing small buckets of fish food to Chinook salmon who were jumping as soon as the food hit the water in the ponds.
Chief Leschi Schools Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Nancy Nelson said the summit is exciting because it gives students from different schools an opportunity to learn together and recognize that many of the things they are doing in the classroom are the same in a lot of places.
“I’m hoping the students here not only increase their sense of responsibility to the planet but also recognize the power they have to take action and make a difference in the future,” Nelson said.
On the first day of the summit, Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Miller and Councilman James Rideout were in attendance when the event kicked off.
“Thank you to all the Tribes that came here today. Our Elders tell us that our salmon are the staple of who we are. Every Tribe that’s put on a river and a tributary, it’s the Tribe’s responsibility to take care of that salmon,” Rideout said. “That’s who we are as Coast Salish people. … But more importantly, this is the heartbeat of our communities. Our school is the heartbeat of our families. It’s important that we have the ability to learn in our own way. … We have the ability to translate our way of life through our education systems.”
