LAPUSH — Welcome back, whales.
The Quileute Tribal School on Wednesday will host the sixth annual Welcoming the Whales ceremony at LaPush.
The event, which is co-sponsored by the Quileute tribe, honors migrating gray whales and their role in Quileute culture.
The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at First Beach and move to the A-ka-lat Center for a meal, singing and storytelling at 1 p.m.
“The public, of course, is welcome,” tribal spokeswoman Jackie Jacobs said.
Among the keynote speakers for this year’s ceremony will be former tribal school Superintendent Leon Strom.
There will be traditional singing and dances to honor the significance of the whale and the sustenance it provided the tribe for centuries, Jacobs said.
Tribal school Cultural Director Rio Jaime predicted that the ceremony will draw about 300, depending on the weather.
Jacobs said Northwest Indian News will be on hand to record a segment that will air on a future date.
“The tribal school children participating in this celebration will be among the first to graduate from the school that will be located on higher ground, which makes it doubly special,” tribal Chairman Tony Foster said.
The Quileute Tribe Tsunami Protection Act — signed by President Barack Obama in February 2012 — expands the tribe’s boundaries in LaPush so it can relocate about 40 residents, the Quileute Tribal School and other facilities out of the tsunami zone in a move not expected to be finished until 2017.
Gray whales travel between 10,000 and 12,000 miles round trip every year between winter calving lagoons near Mexico and summer feeding grounds in Arctic seas.
The whales, which can weigh up to 40 tons and grow as long as 45 feet, can be spotted off the coast of LaPush in April and May.
Orca whales, too, have shown up for past welcoming ceremonies.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
