PORT ANGELES — The Lower Elwha Klallam on Saturday will host an event the like of which hasn’t been on their reservation for decades.
Between 500 and 1,000 people — many from Puget Sound and Vancouver Island — will celebrate the life of the late Vanna Francis.
The public will be welcome at the event at the Lower Elwha tribal center, 2851 Lower Elwha Road, near Port Angeles.
The celebration will start at 10 a.m. in the tribal center’s gym with a ceremonial sweeping of its floor with cedar boughs.
That will be followed by dedication of a memorial bench fashioned by Lummi carver Jewell Praying Wolf James.
The rest of the day after lunch will be given over to songs, prayers and dances by the dozen tribes and Canadian First Nations who will attend, dinner and giving gifts to participants.
The event will be over when every group has finished, sometime Saturday night or even early Sunday morning.
