Passing it on: Tribal leaders and WDFW team up to teach the next generation of hunters
This blog post is a collaborative effort between the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A growing collaboration between many Washington tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is helping more tribal youth access hunter education courses.
“Hunter education is about more than just safety and regulations — it’s about helping people become ethical hunters and ambassadors for responsible hunting,” said Hunter Education Coordinator Bill Montgomery.
Montgomery, who works in WDFW’s Coastal Region, brings this message to thousands of students each year in hunter education classes. Along with helping new hunters, he collaborates with several Native American tribal nations, working closely with their leaders and youth.
Since 2013, WDFW has partnered with nearly 20 tribes to offer hunter education courses across Washington — primarily in the Coastal and North Puget Sound regions, which are home to many of the state’s treaty tribes.
Treaty tribe members hunt under their tribal regulations, including those related to hunter education and safety. Many tribal members choose to take the state’s hunter education class to strengthen their safety practices and feel best prepared for the field.
WDFW certifies tribal members to teach classes on their own and can provide additional teaching support with Department staff and other certified instructors when needed. These partnerships also reflect WDFW’s broader R3 (Recruit, Retain, Reactivate) approach: building inclusive, locally meaningful opportunities that help people of all ages connect — or reconnect — with hunting traditions.
“Hunter education is most effective when taught by trusted members of the community,” Montgomery said. “That local knowledge, connection, and trust is what makes hunter education meaningful and lasting.”
To date, WDFW has certified 38 tribal members as hunter education instructors.
“Start off on the right foot”
The Skokomish Indian Tribe is one of the most recent to partner with WDFW. The Department held a class on Skokomish tribal lands earlier this year, and now Montgomery and WDFW volunteer instructor Jim Fitzgerald are working with the tribe to develop its own hunter education course.
Fitzgerald, who noticed Skokomish youth attending one of his classes, reached out to Skokomish Tribal Chairman Guy Miller — whom he knew through hunting and a mutual contact — to explore offering classes on tribal lands.
“As with any hunter education course, we aim to increase safety and promote best practices,” Fitzgerald said. “Once we train tribal instructors and they begin teaching classes, I think they’ll recruit even more tribal members to take hunter education so they can be best prepared when they go out in the field.”
For Miller, who has hunted for over 70 years, safety is personal. He’s known several tribal members, including family, who have been involved in hunting incidents. He’s committed to changing that.
“Hunting is something I’ve enjoyed all my life, and I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to do it as long as I have,” he said. “I hope that our new hunters realize how important it is to practice safety and responsibility, stay conscious of the dangers out in the field, and use good judgment.”
Teaching new hunters to harvest animals in the most humane and respectful manner possible is also crucial, Miller said.
“We’ve got a lot of kids growing up, and a lot of them are in hunting families,” Miller said. “It’s important for them to learn the right way. We want to see them start off on the right foot.”
Miller’s daughter, Tahnee, and her 10-year-old son, Kyan, also attended the class. While she hasn’t harvested an animal yet, Tahnee has joined her dad on hunting trips since childhood and has experience with rifles. She said she enjoyed getting to handle other types of firearms in the class and emphasized the importance of learning how to carry, load, and unload safely.
Honoring tribal customs and traditions
Garrett Sitting Dog, a Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe member, earned his state hunter education instructor certification last year. He completed an online course, reviewed the material in person with an instructor, and co-taught a hunter education class to meet the requirements.
His goal: expand hunting opportunities for tribal youth.
“I want to create our own curriculum for the tribe, focusing on tribal regulations and practices,” Sitting Dog said. “It would be meaningful to teach through a tribal lens, since most of us hunt only within our traditional lands.”
Providing education and safety refreshers, especially about firearm handling, is essential, Sitting Dog said.
Sitting Dog has hunted deer and elk since childhood, learning from his uncles and grandfather. He also learned to process, can meat, and make jerky, and has taught community classes on skills like deer hide tanning and buckskin crafting.
The tribe is surveying the community to determine other interests related to traditional foods such as elk and deer and use that information to expand class offerings.
Involving the whole family
Kelly Riordan, WDFW’s R3 hunting coordinator, began representing the Department at tribal hunter education classes this year.
From his time teaching both tribal and non-tribal hunter education courses, Riordan said some safety tips aren’t immediately obvious — and that’s where education makes a big difference.
“Students often have moments of, ‘I never thought of that,’” he said. “For instance, when crossing a fence with a firearm, you don’t just jump over the fence. I hope anyone who has taken this class remembers the training if they find themselves in a risky situation.”
Tribal class participants have ranged from young children and teenagers to parents and grandparents.
“Part of WDFW’s R3 work is connecting people from all walks of life with fish, wildlife, and outdoor opportunities,” Riordan said. “I would welcome the opportunity to support and collaborate with tribal staff to host hunting clinics that support their priorities and community connections. This work is most meaningful when it’s done together, in a way that honors tribal knowledge and leadership.”
The Department’s Washington Hunting and Angling R3 Plan is available online.
Beyond teaching safety, Montgomery said he’s also excited to see tribal hunter education instructors share their own traditions and knowledge with classes.
“It’s about passing down heritage, skills, and a love for wildlife from one generation to the next,” he said.
For more information on hunter education courses utilized by tribes, refer to the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society.
