Smoke Signals 3
AUGUST 15, 2005
Northwest Tribes Participate In The "Healing and Unity Journey"
The Eyes Have It
AyoungTulalip Tribal
member comes ashore after,
seeking and receiving
permission fromTribal Elders
at Hollywood Beach in Port
Angeles, Washington on
Monday, August 1. Members
from many Northwest Tribes
participated in the 200 plus
mile "Healing arid Unity
Journey."
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CANOE continued
from front page
Beginning in 1989, this annual
event was originally coordinated
to celebrate Washington's 100th
birthday. It is known to partici
pants as the "Healing and Unity
Journey," and is used to promote
abstinence from drugs and alco
hol. It is also used to familiarize
Tribes with the trade routes used
by their ancestors.
This year's journey attracted
more than 70 canoes from Tribes as
far north as St. Paul, Alaska and as
far south as Grand Ronde, Oregon.
Grand Ronde was the southern
most Tribe and the only Tribe from
Oregon to attend.
"This event helps strengthen
unity between the old Tribes," said
Tribal member and Language Spe
cialist Bobby Mercier. "Just getting
the traditional feeling back was a
big thing for us."
Mercier, along with Tribal mem
bers Greg Leno, Lenny Logan,
Travis Mercier, Mike Hostler, Hope
Lafferty, Eric Saben, Will James,
Tyrone Rock and Acey
RunningBird, helped pull the ca
noes on the 200 plus mile journey.
Chinook Tribal members Tony
Johnson, Gary Johnson and Scott
Baker also pulled in the canoes.
Two of the canoes were Chinook
Tribal canoes and the other be
longed to the Johnson family who
all participated in its construction.
The names of the canoes are
Skaqwel, (Lamprey Eel) Ulimits
(Old Nose) and Okolum (Morning
Fog). They are 24 feet long and
can hold up to six people. In com
parison, most of the other canoes
were 35-40 feet long and could
hold up to 18 people.
"We kept up with the others and
sometimes in front of them," said
Mercier.
This being Grand Ronde's first
canoe journey, it brought curiosity
to the many participating Tribes.
"A lot of people were amazed that
Grand Ronde was there," said
Mercier. "They really wanted to
talk to us and seemed very inter
ested in our Tribe."
Squamish Tribal member
Breanna Joseph, Athabascan
Tribal member Crystal
Szczepanski, and Grand Ronde
Tribal members Jackie Provost and
Pam McDaniel served as the
ground crew and broke-downsetup
camp at each day's destination.
Social Services Manager Dave Ful
lerton ran a support boat in the
case of an emergency.
"The ground crew was a big, big
help," said Mercier. "We wouldn't
have been able to do it without
them."
For the Grand Ronde, the jour-
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Representing Our People Tribal member and Language Specialist Bobby Mercier (center in red) waits for
protocol in Port Angeles, Washington. During protocol, each canoe arrives at its final destination, they form a circle about
one mile off shore and begin their journey to land. Once the canoes reach the shore, a spokesperson from each canoe
introduces themselves, their Tribe and the canoe they are in and then asks permission to come ashore.
ney was a total of 12 days. They
began at the Squaxin Island Tribe
on Saturday, July 23. 'After pad
dling for 10-12 hours each day, the
canoes would gather at different
Tribal Reservations along the
Puget Sound. Before being al
lowed on shore, there was a proto
col, in which all of the canoes
would gather about one mile off
shore and form a circle. The canoe
that was furthest from shore would
begin its paddle toward land, with
each canoe following in-line.
Then, a designated person from
each canoe would introduce them
selves, the Tribe they represented
and the canoe that they were in.
They would then speak to the
Tribal Elders of the host Tribe and
ask permission to come ashore. A
representative from the host Tribe
would welcome each canoe and its
members to their reservation
where they would all then eat,
share songs and dances and then
finally rest for the night. They
would then begin their journey
around 8 a.m. the next morning.
"The first few days were really
hard," said Mercier. "But the teach
ings and hospitality, which was over
whelming, made it all worth while."
The Coast Guard shut the ca
noe journey down on the final day
due to high winds and rough
waters. Volunteers put the ca
noes on trailers and drove them
to a more settled point, shorten
ing the final destination.
About 4,000 people made their
way to Elwha, Washington to cel
ebrate the accomplishments of the
people in the canoes as well as the
people that have traveled the same
paths before them.
Despite soar muscles and sun
burns, members from Grand
Ronde are already planning for
next year's trip.
"A lot of traditional events hap
pened over those 12 days," said
Mercier. "It's very humbling, espe
cially when I think about the rea
sons that I'm out there." B