The partnership reaches well beyond matchday ceremony. Visitors have reportedly been welcomed to Puyallup cultural events featuring dance, singing, powwow gatherings and demonstrations of wood carving and weaving.
McCloud’s warning about outside perceptions is equally important. Many people know Native communities through film and television, she said, but that “não representa o povo Puyallup aqui no Noroeste do Pacífico”. The World Cup offers a chance to replace distant images with direct experience.
The tribe’s Lushootseed language has also been brought into the tournament’s digital activity through games and challenges. One task encourages users to visit the reservation and repeat “yəhaw”, an expression described as meaning “come on, let’s keep going”.
Amy McFarland, who leads the tribe’s World Cup project, said: “Dá para ver pessoas andando na rua dizendo 'yəhaw! yəhaw'”. It is a small but vivid example of how the event can make an Indigenous language part of everyday football conversation.
The cultural programme also includes stick-games, which combine guessing, strategy and spirituality. Not every sacred element is intended for public display, with tribal counsellor Amber Hayward making that boundary clear.
The wider ambition is economic as well as cultural. Sterud said the tribe is developing contacts with international organisations and countries, hoping the visibility created by the tournament will continue after the final whistle.
The next test will be whether those relationships endure when Seattle’s matches are over. For Puyallup, the most meaningful result may be a lasting place in the conversation around the World Cup.