Puyallup Tribe Hosts Intergenerational Mindfulness Night for Families

A strawberry or blackberry was all it took to anchor three generations of Puyallup Tribe families in the present moment. At Parent Engagement Night No. 14 on March 18 at the Little Wild Wolves Youth Center, Wrap Around Program Director Ashley Howard opened the session by placing a berry in each attendee's hand, and Wrap Around Youth Program Coordinator Meagan Pedigo took it from there, guiding the room to feel the texture, smell the fruit, and finally eat it.

"Just having the mindfulness to attach to your senses, it brings you into the present moment. We were creating mindfulness over something as mundane or ordinary as a berry," Pedigo said.

The evening was the latest installment in a monthly series organized by the Puyallup Tribe's Wrap Around Program, and the berry exercise was only the first of three structured activities. The session also continued an ongoing book discussion, working through the first four chapters of Hunter Clarke-Fields' "Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids." Pedigo next asked each participant to write down 10 things they could say to themselves as a sign of forgiveness or acceptance. The room opened up: many people shared what they had written aloud with the rest of the group.

The closing exercise moved inward. Pedigo asked attendees to bring to mind a family member, caregiver, or other pivotal figure from their childhood, then to offer that person compassion and meditation in that mental space, and finally to return that same compassion to themselves in the present. A handful of people afterward spoke about who had come to mind for them.

What struck Pedigo most was the span of the room itself: parents beside their children, grandparents beside their grandchildren.

"It just shows each generation is committed to being here," she said. "Even if the kids don't know it yet, the seeds are planted and the parents are watering the seeds. We had grandparents here. It's like you're watching the whole system."

The monthly series has drawn in community partners alongside its mindfulness curriculum. In January, Kwawachee Behavioral Health & Wellness counselors Sharon Templeton and Heather Taft led a partner presentation at one of the earlier Parent Engagement Nights, covering stress coping skills, grounding exercises, and how families can access services through Kwawachee.

Families interested in future Parent Engagement Nights can contact the Puyallup Tribe at 253-573-7800.