By Katie Manzanares

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe welcomed health and wellness professionals from across Indian Country Aug. 4 and 5 for Native Fitness 20, marking the first time the long-running training was hosted at a Tribal entity.

Held at the Muckleshoot Wellness Center, the two-day event brought together Tribal health professionals for hands-on training centered on movement, traditional foods, Native games and culturally grounded approaches to health and wellness.

Muckleshoot Tribal Chairman Donny Stevenson opened the gathering by welcoming participants to Muckleshoot and sharing history about the Muckleshoot people and their homelands. His remarks gave those visiting for Native Fitness 20 an opportunity to learn more about the Tribe and the community hosting the training.

Native Fitness 20 is organized through the Western Tribal Diabetes Project at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and is designed to give Tribal Diabetes Coordinators, fitness staff and other health and wellness professionals practical skills they can bring back to their own communities.

This year's event looked different from a traditional health conference. Rather than spending two days sitting through presentations, participants moved between breakout sessions that put many of the lessons into practice.

Day one included Northwest Traditional Foods with Valerie Segrest, traditional games with Shane Lopez-Johnston and Tommy Ghost Dog, a HYROX circuit with Tayla LaClair and Muckleshoot wellness trainers, trail running and plant-based recovery with Rachel Heaton, and aquatic exercise with Amelia Merrill.

Traditional games offered participants a chance to get moving while taking part in activities rooted in Native culture. One of the games was double ball, bringing participants together through movement, competition and teamwork.

The activity also demonstrated one of the ideas behind Native Fitness: Exercise and wellness do not have to happen only inside a gym. Traditional games and other culturally connected activities can get people moving while creating an experience that feels relevant and welcoming to Native communities.

Food was another important part of the training. During Segrest's Northwest Traditional Foods class, participants took a hands-on approach to Native nutrition, making rose hip jam, nettle tea and trail mix with cinnamon.

The session connected food, culture and wellness while giving participants ideas they could take back to their own communities. Alongside the physical activities offered throughout Native Fitness 20, the class showed how wellness can include not only how people move, but also the foods and plants that have long been part of Native communities.

Day two continued with additional hands-on sessions, including HYROX training, breath work and movement with Marissa Baumgartner, trail running with OJ Fiander and aquatic exercise.

The training's approach is designed to ensure the lessons do not end when the event is over. Participants can return home with ideas and resources that can be adapted for different ages, abilities and communities as they continue their work supporting Native health and wellness.

Hosting Native Fitness 20 at Muckleshoot brought that work directly into a Tribal community for the first time and allowed participants to experience many of the lessons in a setting where culture, community and wellness were connected throughout the training.

From double ball and traditional foods to trail running, aquatic exercise and strength training, the two days showed there is no single way to approach fitness and wellness.

The gathering closed Aug. 5 with a prayer from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, sending participants home with new skills and ideas they could carry back to their own communities.

For Muckleshoot, hosting Native Fitness 20 was an opportunity to welcome people from across Indian Country to Muckleshoot homelands while supporting a shared goal of creating healthier Native communities through movement, food, culture and connection.