To bridge the career gap between high school and work, Lummi Nation Natural Resources (LNR) partnered with the Ferndale High School Aquaculture program in 2024 to provide students in this Career and Technical Education (CTE) program with hands-on experience in Tribal fisheries as well as classroom technical and cultural support. LNR is uniquely positioned to educate youth on treaty rights, aquaculture, and environmental leadership. Ferndale High School has a long and challenging history with Lummi Nation as an educational institution. A harmful history of racism, rooted in fishing access, persists through the community and continues to fissure the political landscape. LNR is the largest natural resources department in Whatcom County, leading the way in culturally grounded restoration, protection, and preservation of resources for everyone that lives here. Ferndale High School, meanwhile, provides education to the most diverse group of learners in the county, including Lummi Tribal members. By elevating Native voices in the classroom, we aim to help students see the Tribe as partners in conservation. Lummi Nation runs three hatcheries that provide ample learning opportunities for students, both tribal and non-tribal. Activities include salmon hatchery tours, learning how to spawn, incubate, adipose fin-clip, and dissect salmon; field trips to shellfish hatcheries provide opportunities to learn about algae operation and how to spawn clams, oysters, and geoduck. In the classroom, students will fertilize and rear coho. LNR staff provide guidance, expertise, guest Tribal speakers, and regular mentoring. In spring, students release approximately 20,000 salmon fry into the Nooksack River. Through this program, students actively contribute to salmon recovery efforts in their local watershed; engage in hands-on learning about the complex nature of fisheries and Tribal/State co-management in Washington State; gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous stewardship and their shared responsibility for future generations; and have a career springboard for youth interested in fisheries. ($20,000)