08/28/2026
WHO IS PEOPLE OF THE CONFLUENCE?
People of the Confluence is an Indigenous-led nonprofit creating meaningful programs for Native youth, families, elders and community.
At the heart of People of the Confluence are four values that guide everything we do
RESPECT ☆ WISDOM ☆ GENEROSITY ☆ COURAGE
We carry these values into our responsibility to protect and care for
WATER ☆ AIR ☆ EARTH ☆ SPIRIT
These aren't simply words. They guide how we teach our youth, listen to our elders, care for our communities, restore the land, share what we have and carry Indigenous knowledge forward.
WE PUT OUR HANDS IN THE EARTH.
Our youth and families have participated in environmental restoration and cleanup projects throughout our region. For example, on Kellogg Island in West Seattle, we removed garbage and plastics and pulled invasive English ivy that was strangling native trees.
Along the Skykomish River in Snohomish County, we've worked to remove invasive Japanese knotweed, clear other invasive plants and restore healthy habitat by planting native species.
But these aren't simply cleanup projects.
While our young people work on the land, they're also learning about the Indigenous plants they're putting back into it along with their traditional uses, relationships to the ecosystem and the responsibility we have to care for them.
WE WORK DILIGENTLY TO KEEP TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE MOVING FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.
Our youth learn through traditional ways of teaching, including storytelling. They listen, learn and practice retelling traditional and epic stories they have learned from the many tribal communities they come from.
We have both a Native Youth Advisory Council and an Elders Advisory Council
because we believe our young people's voices and our elders' knowledge and experience deserve to be heard.
When those generations come together, knowledge doesn't just get talked about it gets carried forward.
WE LOVE TO HELP CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
Last year alone, People of the Confluence made more than 3,000 traditional plant-medicine teas and salves and distributed in the community with a special focus on our elders and our houseless relatives.
That is Generosity in action.
Restoring habitat and protecting the places that sustain us is Respect.
Listening to our elders and carrying traditional knowledge forward is Wisdom.
Teaching our young people to find their voices, become leaders and stand up for their communities is Courage.
