From River to Root: Native Traditional Food Plants, Salmon, and the Work of Living Sovereignty – Restoring Salmon Habitat & Revitalizing Traditional Foodways Through Tribal Leadership

Abstract

This management plan preface aims to introduce a community-guided management plan for a traditional food forest and salmon habitat restoration site at Chief Leschi Schools (CLS) in Puyallup, Washington. Developed in partnership with educators, students, and project partners, the management plan centers place-based, community-led action in response to intersecting environmental and social crises. Specifically focusing on, the ongoing impacts of settler colonial land management and societal structures, the systematic dismantling of traditional food systems, and the urgent need for climate adaptation strategies (Gilio-Whitaker, 2019; Coté, 2022). This project approaches restoration as a relational, action-based process rooted in centering Tribal sovereignty and leadership while also critically engaging with and seeking to disrupt ongoing settler-colonial discourses and impacts that are deeply intertwined and embedded in environmental spaces. This aligns with growing efforts to build co-management frameworks that uphold Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous community-defined priorities, demonstrating how meaningful partnerships can support both ecological recovery and cultural revitalization when tribal leadership is respected and prioritized in habitat restoration (Donatuto et. al., 2014; Dent et. al., 2023).