PORT ANGELES — More than 100 canoes are expected to land during Paddle to Elwha later this month, and 4,000 people are expected to participate.
That’s what Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Chair Frances Charles told the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce during its meeting Wednesday at the Red Lion Hotel.
“It’s something we’re really looking forward to,” Charles said. “It’s really about the culture.”
This year is the 20th anniversary of the last time the Elwha tribe hosted the paddle journey. The theme of this journey is “Dams removed, a river reborn, spirits renewed.”
Canoes will land on the Elwha, which has 80 to 100 acres more land now that the dams have been removed, Charles said.
“The goal was to take place on our ancestral grounds,” she said. “Paddle to Elwha is for the success of taking down the dams.”
The paddle journey is something which has happened nearly every year since 1989 with Paddle to Seattle, according to Charles’ presentation.
“It’s about the elders, it’s about the children,” she said. “It’s sharing knowledge, sharing relationships.”
The official landing day is July 31, which Charles said will be a long day. During the day, tribes will ask permission to land from early in the morning to just before nightfall.
“We want to put the youth up front to do the speeches,” Charles said. “Our young ones have been practicing singing, dancing. They’re making drums and paddles. The kids have been really humbled to be part of it.”
Tribes will stay from July 31 through Aug. 5, when the Elwha Tribe will take the floor. The week will be filled with protocol presentations from different tribes.
“The canoe journey is an annual celebration of Indigenous resilience, cultural revitalization and unity among Pacific Northwest Tribes,” according to the presentation. “Tribal nations paddle ancestral routes across the Salish Sea and Pacific Coast, visiting host nations along the way. It is a sacred act of cultural practice, healing and sovereignty.”
Due to the healing nature of the event, no drugs or alcohol will be allowed, Charles said.
“Canoe journey honors ancestral knowledge, waterways and traditional navigation skills,” according to the presentation. “It is rooted in values of respect, unity and environmental stewardship. The protocol and ceremonies strengthen intertribal relationships and reaffirm cultural identity.”
In addition to songs and dancing, the week will include potlatches and tribes speaking their native languages. It’s about traveling the highways of their ancestors, the presentation states.
There also will be carving, paddle making, gathering and making of gifts and honoring those who have battled a disease, continue to battle one or who have overcome a battle.
The presentation included a history of the canoe, which was historically used for hunting, gathering, fishing, traveling to other villages to potlatch, marriages to bring the bride from her village to her new one and territory wars.
Some tribes will begin their travels as early as July 20, according to a map in the presentation, and there will be tribes coming from Canada along with support boats for safety.
“The canoes follow the tides,” Charles said.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
