Sumner School District presents Native American program, cites 10-year MOU with Puyallup tribe

At a Sumner School District Board meeting, program staff and tribal partners described the district—s Native American education program, its reach and a newly negotiated 10-year memorandum of understanding with the Puyallup tribe.

Kelly Dent, the district superintendent, read a land acknowledgment and framed the work as a long-term partnership with tribal leaders. "This land acknowledgment is not only a recognition of the past and present, it is a call to grow in understanding, to listen deeply, to support, and to build relationships rooted in respect, truth, accountability, and belonging for all," Dent said.

Jason Lafontaine, the district—s Native American program director and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, outlined program activities and participation. He said the program has "210 students signed up" and that students in the district represent roughly 79 tribes. Lafontaine described outreach including classroom presentations, family nights, powwow participation, and honors for Native seniors such as blankets, necklaces and books.

District staff and Lafontaine explained why their counts differ from state reports: the district looks across multiple race/ethnicity fields and identified roughly 360 students it believes have Native heritage, while the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) reports only students marked solely as American Indian/Alaska Native (OSPI—s count in the transcript was cited as 70). District staff said they share more comprehensive lists with tribes during tribal consultation.

Dent and presenters described a first-ever, multi-district memorandum of understanding with the Puyallup tribe covering the coming decade (described in the presentation as a roughly 10-year MOU). The MOU includes coordination on Lushootseed language revitalization and classes that can count for world-language credit, paid internships and shared student supports such as referrals to tribal mental-health and medical resources. Presenters said some implementation details, including how a tribal-hired contact position will operate in schools across Pierce County, are still being worked out.

Presenters also outlined funding sources. Lafontaine said the program is primarily funded through the federal Office of Indian Education grant and is supported by occasional Boeing STEM grants, Pierce County grants and other local awards. He thanked the district for a $10,000 allocation to support field trips and family events. The presentation noted that federal grant funding is tied to registration forms; the presenters did not provide a definitive per-form dollar amount in the presentation.

Board members asked for more detail on the MOU—s priorities and staffing. Dent said superintendents across Pierce County are coordinating with the tribe to identify immediate pilot priorities and to clarify logistics for the tribal contact role. Dent also announced district resources for Native American Heritage Month, including slide packets for teachers and materials intended for elementary, middle and high school audiences.

The presentation included hands-on cultural lessons (a "3 sisters" planting lesson of corn, beans and squash; beading; and a medicine wheel activity) and a short video explaining medicine wheel teachings. Dent said the district would place selected slides and materials in school libraries and district buildings to support teacher instruction.

The meeting closed with board thanks to Lafontaine, Sherman and other partners and with a pledge to continue tribal consultation and curriculum work in service of equity and belonging for Native students.