Department Spotlight – Little Wild Wolves Youth and Community Center

In our Lushootseed language, we are known as the puyaləpabš. The literal translation of this word means “people from the bend at the bottom of the river.” This refers to the many dispersed villages that spanned outward from the mouth of the Puyallup River, near the present-day site of the Tacoma Dome. The name spuyaləpabš also became associated with our people’s welcoming and generous behavior. Over time the meaning of spuyaləpabš, or Puyallup, has taken on this association. Read more at our website.