
By Shayna Brown
Muckleshoot — On Dec. 20, Muckleshoot Tribe’s Annual Christmas Party brought families together for a festive day filled with excitement, tradition, and holiday spirit. The event blended cultural pride with modern fun, creating a jolly good time for all ages.
This year’s celebration featured an impressive lineup of attractions. The community was able to enjoy thrilling outdoor rides and cutting‑edge VR experiences that transported them into imaginative fun worlds. The climbing wall had youth racing to the top. The video game truck was a constant hub of energy, giving cousins, friends and siblings a chance to play together throughout the event. Indoors, winter craft stations offered a cozy space for families to create custom beanies, scarfs, and keepsakes that captured the spirit of the season.
Photo booths were scattered throughout the venue, along with professional caricatures, and even a robotic sketch artist, giving families and friends the chance to capture fun festive pictures and drawings to take home. These captured moments added a personal touch to the celebration and helped preserve the joy of the day.
As always, the Christmas Party highlighted the Tribe’s commitment to unity, cultural pride, and community connection. Elders, youth, and families shared a sense of belonging, laughter, and holiday cheer, making the event one of the most meaningful gatherings of the year.

120 canoes and well over 10,000 people came to our territory for Paddle to Muckleshoot 2023. Enjoy a selection of the many thousands of pictures shared by professional photographers as well as Tribal member attendees.

Chairman Jaison Elkins thanks all involved in making the Paddle to Muckleshoot such a success; John Daniels, Jr. offers words of encouragement and appreciation to Tribal Dads, Donny Stevenson reflects on a new age of Indigenous excellence.

Joseph Martin, Muckleshoot Tribal Education Officer, shares an overview of Muckleshoot graduates including high school and college graduates, and all-time record number of graduates from Muckleshoot Department of Education programs.

The Port of Seattle and Muckleshoot Indian Tribal Government signed a Memorandum of Agreement on June 29, 2023 that will expand their government-to-government relationship, including regular and structured communication between leadership.
The Muckleshoot Messenger is a monthly Tribal publication. Tribal community members and Tribal employees are welcome to submit items to the newspaper such as announcements, birth news, birthday shoutouts, community highlights, and more. We want to hear from you!