By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Each summer, the Kenny Moses Building transforms into something extraordinary. It’s filled with the voices of Tulalip youth as they greet one another, ask questions, and practice speaking dxʷləšucid. During the 29th annual Lushootseed Language Camp’s second week, more than 70 children immersed themselves in five days dedicated to strengthening their connection to culture and community through the guidance of Tulalip’s devoted Language Warriors.
Rather than sitting behind desks memorizing vocabulary, campers spent each day rotating through seven interactive stations, each carefully designed to teach not only dxʷləšucid, but the values and traditions that accompany it.
Outside the K.M.B., Kylee Sohappy transformed familiar playground games into opportunities for language learning. The timeless children’s game Red Light, Green Light became an exercise in listening and responding to Lushootseed commands, while another favorite exchanged rock, paper, scissors for three characters from this year’s featured story, Loon & Deer.
The children quickly discovered that learning vocabulary doesn’t always require flashcards. Sometimes it happens while running across a field, laughing with friends, and trying not to get tagged. The outdoor station remained filled with energy throughout the week, proving that language retention often comes easiest when children are simply having fun.
“We incorporated Lushootseed into games the kids were familiar with to build up their confidence with the vocabulary and certain concepts from the Friday play,” shared Kylee. “It’s so much fun to watch as they learn while playing. Some of them don’t even realize they’ve learned until I ask them what this word or that word means, then suddenly their hand goes sky high because they are so eager to share what the translation is. It’s amazing to witness and I’m just so thankful I got to run the games station this year.”
Next to the Kenny Moses Building, under a shade-creating tarp, John Waters blended generations of innovation into a single classroom. One moment campers gathered around an oversized interactive touch-screen monitor, tracing vocabulary words, identifying images, and participating in digital learning activities. The next, they shifted their attention to one of humanity’s oldest technologies, a carved stone mortar and pestle, learning how earlier generations processed food and medicines long before electricity or electronics existed.
“Technology usually takes the form of a tablet, where we have the kids interactive with our apps we have available, but this year we did more hands-on learning,” explained John. “They showed a lot of enthusiasm for the mortar and pestle. They learned and demonstrated how our people made medicines and prepared certain foods by crushing, grinding, and mixing.”
By placing traditional tools beside modern technology, John demonstrated that preserving culture doesn’t require rejecting the future. Instead, today’s technology can become another pathway toward protecting yesterday’s teachings.
Language itself remained the centerpiece of camp inside Nikki St. Onge’s classroom. Through vocabulary lessons, illustrated coloring books, storytelling, and conversation, campers continued building confidence with Lushootseed words and pronunciation. Rather than treating the language as something reserved for ceremonies or classrooms, Nikki encouraged students to see it as something alive. Something that belongs in everyday conversations, games, songs, and family life.
Each new word represented another thread connecting today’s youth with generations who once spoke the language fluently throughout the region.
“It does surprise me every time a kid picks up the vocabulary words with such ease. After all these years, I don’t really know why I’m still surprised, but I am. It also makes me feel a sense of accomplishment, too, because I’m playing a part in them reconnecting with a language that was always theirs,” reflected Nikki. “Something as simple as a coloring book can really make an impact because its therapeutic to sit, be calm, and color. As they are coloring page by page they are seeing the Lushootseed words that go along with the picture they are coloring, and it helps them recall what the words mean.”
Across the hall, Melissa Young’s weaving station offered perhaps the most tangible reminder that every child has a role in the community.
Working together, each camper spent time weaving wool into pieces that will become a ceremonial skirt and sash for this year’s two witnesses during Friday’s culminating play. While no individual child completed the garments alone, every set of hands contributed to their creation.
That lesson in collective responsibility continued as campers learned basic cedar weaving techniques while crafting bracelets to take home. It was the first weaving project for many, and another opportunity to connect with one of the Coast Salish people’s most treasured materials.
“We decided to add cedar bracelet making this year because we had so many kids ask to work with cedar,” explained Melissa. “Cedar bracelets are relatively simple and easy to make, but for the kids, especially the ones who never worked with cedar before, the bracelets become a priceless treasure. I’m always impressed with how quickly they pick up on the technique and weaving patterns. To me, it just shows that they have these traditional talents within them, they just need something or someone to teach them what they are capable of.”
History also found its place during Angel Paquin’s traditional teachings station. Throughout the week, campers learned about respected Tulalip ancestors, including Chief William Shelton and his daughter Harriet Shelton Dover, whose efforts to preserve Coast Salish traditions continue inspiring future generations.
Their stories reminded campers that language revitalization did not begin with them. Instead, they are continuing work begun by ancestors who understood the importance of protecting culture long before today’s revitalization movement gained momentum.
“A lot of our older people still have this angst or feelings of hesitation over learning Lushootseed, and they don’t know where it comes from. Well, it’s pretty clear with the knowledge we have today about generational trauma that it stems from their parents or grandparents being in the boarding schools and having their traditional language beaten out of them,” explained Angel. “By teaching the kids the stories of Williams Shelton and his daughter, I’m hoping to explain how the language was nearly lost, but we’ve found our way back to it.
“Our ancestors were disempowered, they were hurt and had violence inflected upon them, for using the language at the boarding schools. Now, today, through all the revitalization efforts of so many, we are actively empowering ourselves and the next generation by using Lushootseed and teaching it to the children. That’s healing in action, if you ask me,” she added.
Again, outside the K.M.B., Thomas Williams turned Tulalip Bay into an extension of the classroom. A lifelong fisherman, Thomas divided each of his sessions between drumming and singing before leading campers down to the shoreline. There, children explored tide pools, collected clam and oyster shells, searched for crabs, and asked endless questions about the marine life surrounding them.
One of the week’s biggest discoveries came when several campers learned that barnacles are, in fact, living creatures. Simple moments like these became lessons about stewardship, encouraging children to understand that every shell, every tide pool, and every living organism plays an important role within the shared ecosystem that has sustained Coast Salish people since time immemorial.
“The kids are constant reminders that we need to stay interested in nature, so that when they get excited and ask questions, we are able to guide their curiosity,” said Thomas. “Everything has a spirit, from the salmon to the barnacles to the sea itself. When we understand this then it empowers us with a responsibility to take care of our shared environment. This may sound like a big concept to most kids, but doing what we can to teach them early can inspire the next generation to grow up and take ownership of that responsibility.”
Creativity rounded out the daily rotations inside Michelle Myles’ art station. Using locally harvested Devil’s Club, campers created handcrafted wind chimes while also learning that the plant serves purposes beyond artwork. Michelle explained how its bark has traditionally been used in medicinal preparations, with additional handcrafted salves being prepared as giveaways following Friday’s presentation.
By the end of the week, dozens of children had visited each station several times, unknowingly weaving together lessons in language, ecology, history, art, technology, and community into one larger understanding of what it means to be Tulalip. And for 29 summers now, that’s been the heart of Lushootseed Language Camp.
