PORT ANGELES — Canoes representing Canadian first nations and North Olympic Peninsula tribes arrived to a welcoming ceremony Wednesday afternoon at Hollywood Beach, briefly stopping in Port Angeles for respite before continuing Friday to Olympia as part of the 2016 Paddle to Nisqually.
The destination for the usually annual gathering of tribes is the Port of Olympia on July 30. The Nisqually tribe will host tribes from Oregon to British Columbia for potlatch, ceremonies and celebrations through Aug. 6.
About 26 canoes were expected to make landfall throughout Wednesday afternoon, Sonja Elofson, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s Canoe Family coordinator, has said. The tribe led the welcoming ceremony festivities.
The beach was cleaned in advance by volunteers with the Port Angeles Citizen Action Network, said Angie Gooding, the organization’s chairperson.
One by one on Wednesday, canoes of various sizes cut through the surf at Hollywood Beach, pausing briefly before beaching to request permission to land.
That permission was granted by Lower Elwha Klallam tribal representatives, who stood regally on the beach in traditional garments while singing native songs and beating on leather drums.
Historically, “it was rude not to ask to come to land,” said Port Angeles resident Irene Peters, 17, a member of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.
Peters, wearing a black robe with intricate red embroidery, had just welcomed a canoe to land.
“It is traditional that they ask to come to shore and we grant them their wish so they can come sing and dance with us,” she said.
The point of asking, she said, is to let the local inhabitants know the visitors had come in peace.
Peters said she was moved by the experience.
“It is very peaceful and moving because everybody is singing songs they know,” she said. “There is purpose in being here.”
Pullers in canoes crossing from Canada on Wednesday said the seas were calm.
“It was probably the best we ever had coming across the Strait,” said Gordon Charles, a member of the Scia’new First Nation of Beecher Bay, B.C.
“Usually it is really blowing and blowing. It was really good weather this year.”
Charles is the skipper of the Wave Dancer, a canoe that can fit up to 18 people, he said.
The canoe set off at about 8 a.m., Charles said, arriving in Port Angeles about six hours later.
“We made pretty good time,” he said.
Charles was pleased to be met with a large crowd at Hollywood Beach.
“It is always good to see,” he said, adding he is looking forward to arriving at the final destination of the journey in Olympia on July 30.
Charles has been participating in the usually annual event since about 1996, he said.
The first canoe he went on the journey with was much smaller, he said, only fitting about six people. It was given to his wife by one of her uncles, he said.
“We swapped it for this one,” he said.
“That one was too small,” especially when traversing through rough seas, he said.
Charles said he continues to participate in the event because “it is good for the kids.”
The journey teaches them how to “pull together,” he continued.
“We’ve all got to work together” — a life lesson applicable outside the canoe, he said.
Charles’ grandson, Tavion Charles-Henry, 15, is along for the journey this year.
He said he has been participating since he was about 6 years old.
His 16th birthday will be in a few days, he said.
“I usually celebrate my birthday” out on the water, he said.
Charles-Henry said the experience “makes me feel great.
“It is just amazing to be out in the water. It is amazing to see all the canoes show up. It is a great experience. I love doing it.”
As an alcohol- and drug-free event, the journey is a healing experience for those who have struggled with substance abuse in the past, Elofson has said.
That is part of the reason Raymond Chester-Moon, 22, of Victoria, B.C., has participated since about 1999, he said after landing on the beach. Chester-Moon does not claim any one tribe, saying he is a descendant of many in the Northwest.
“My dad, Harry Moon, who owns this canoe with me, has been doing it since 1993,” Chester-Moon said.
“My dad has been sober for 24 years, and dry from drugs 30.”
As such, each year is a celebration for his family, Chester-Moon said.
Moon did not cross in the canoe this year due to old age, Chester-Moon said, adding his father crossed on the ferry.
In addition to being a celebration for those who have quit drugs and alcohol, Chester-Moon said the journey also is meant to “keep the youth out of trouble — drinking, drugs and all that. This keeps them busy.”
The journey will continue to the Jamestown beach Friday, where pullers will be welcomed by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe.
The next stop will be Saturday in Port Townsend for a joint welcoming ceremony by the Jamestown S’Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes, said Vickie L. Carroll, Jamestown S’Klallam tribal Canoe Journey coordinator.
The Port Gamble S’Klallam will join the journey Sunday and it will continue on to Olympia.
The 2016 Canoe Journey, known as the Paddle to Nisqually, kicked-off on the North Olympic Peninsula July 8 when the Quinault tribe entered the Pacific Ocean in canoes to begin the odyssey.
By the time they reach the end of their journey July 30, the Quinault will have been joined by a flotilla of canoes including the Hoh, Quileute, Makah, Lower Elwha Klallam and Jamestown S’Klallam tribes.
The theme of this year’s Canoe Journey is “Don’t Forget the Water.”
This is the first journey since 2014. No tribe stepped forward to host the event in 2015.
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Features Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
