By Wade Sheldon, Tulalip News
Between September 8 and 13, students from Heritage High School and Quil Ceda Elementary, along with elders from across the reservation, participated in discussions that uncovered the values, stories, and wisdom that have shaped the Tribe for generations. A new initiative, the Traditional Leadership Project, aims to revive the traditional sense of leadership on the reservation and explore how leadership once functioned in the community.
Dr. Stephanie Fryberg, and beda?chelh Director Shelly Lacy, along with members of Indigenous Collaborations, led the Traditional Leadership Project. Visits to Heritage High School and Quil Ceda Elementary involved asking students questions about leadership, while separate meetings with elders offered a deeper understanding of the community’s history and values.
Indigenous Collaborations is a Native American-owned and woman-owned organization based in Denver, Colorado. They specialize in guiding communities through structured discussions and studies, ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard and assisting participants in addressing complex issues. Their approach emphasizes listening, respect, and a methodology that draws out insights from all generations, allowing communities to translate those insights into meaningful action.
The project’s findings revealed a strong desire for elders and students to be actively involved in the new school campus. By inviting elders to share stories, participate in lunches, or offer guidance, the project seeks to restore respect for elders and reinforce cultural connections. The Traditional Leadership Project is designed to determine which strategies were effective in the past and how those approaches might be adapted for today’s needs.
Participants were also asked about leaders from the past who had inspired them, including names such as Stan Jones Sr., Francis J. Sheldon, and Herman Williams. These leaders were remembered for their ability to listen, provide guidance, and implement strategies that the community respected and followed. Whether offering advice or serving as a steady presence, these past leaders exemplified the qualities needed at the time, and their influence is still felt today.
The sessions spanned several days, starting at Heritage High School, followed by meetings with elders, and concluding at Quil Ceda Elementary with a community meeting on September 12-13. The purpose of the project was to rethink leadership from the perspective of the tribe’s ancestors. By gathering insights from elders about the leaders of their youth, spanning many generations, the project aims to revive traditional practices regarding how leaders behaved, communicated, assessed situations, and motivated young people in the community.
Following a session of the Traditional Leadership Project on September 13, Dr. Fryberg explained the purpose of the gatherings, saying, “The goal was really to take a step back from how we think about leadership and to really rethink leadership through the perspectives of our ancestors. Rather than starting from a Western perspective, we wanted to center the viewpoints of our elders—many of whom have been our leaders in the past—and hear how leaders guided and influenced them.”
Youth engagement played a critical role in the project. Dr. Fryberg highlighted the enthusiasm and curiosity of students: “You could just feel how much our youth want that connection—they want to feel that connection to who they are, to the past, to our ancestors. They want to see what our elders saw and learn from their experiences.”
The information collected is being compiled into a report that will serve as both a resource for understanding leadership and a living document for future reflection. Dr. Fryberg explained, “We hope that parts of this will inform how we think about leadership in the future… It will provide direction, but it will also stand as a living document we can come back to when we need to be reminded of past leadership and how our ancestors carried out their work.”
Reflecting on the potential for future sessions, she added, “Some of the elders we worked with were saying they hoped this is something we could do every year.” She also acknowledged the need to continue capturing more voices over time: “There are absolutely more voices I would love to hear from, more stories I would like told. I have tremendous respect and admiration for the elders who shared their voices and perspectives with us, and for the youth who engaged so thoughtfully. It was extraordinary to hear these voices come together and talk about leadership, past and present.”
Shelly Lacy also reflected on the project’s significance, highlighting the value of learning from the community about leadership traits and values. “We talked about bringing the community together to hear from them about who were leaders in their lives, and trying to figure out how we could look at building a curriculum around how we train leaders—not just in the Western model but also based on the traditional values that our leaders have.”
Lacy explained that the project’s ultimate goal is to translate the insights into actionable approaches for schools, tribal government, and community programs. “I hope that once we get it all together and continue to work with people, we can agree on these values and how we bring that into school. How could we bring that back to tribal government or back to the village to incorporate these traditional teachings into leadership training?”
Lacy concluded by expressing gratitude for the elders and youth who contributed their voices and stories. “I want to thank everybody – the elders and the youth who shared their information and their stories with us, because that helps us to continue with the project and make sure that we can continue to grow future leaders,” she said. She added with optimism, “I’m looking forward to it so much. I just think it’ll be good.”