The next stops in the 2010 annual Tribal Canoe Journey will be at Fort Worden State Park and LaPush this afternoon, although the time and the number of canoes that will arrive are still unknown.
“Most of the people who can tell us when they will get here are still out on the water,” said volunteer Carla Main in Port Townsend. “So there isn’t a lot of communication.”
The time is not set in LaPush either, where Quinault and Hoh canoes are expected today, but canoes usually don’t arrive before the middle of the afternoon.
Main doesn’t expect the first canoes at Fort Worden before 1 p.m., she said.
Pullers in the annual trek are making stops along the way as they move toward this year’s destination: Neah Bay, where the Makah will greet representatives of Pacific Northwest and Canadian tribes on Monday for a six-day celebration.
Pullers whose last stop was Port Gamble will pull up on the beach south of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center at Fort Worden, with hosting ceremonies alternating between the Port Gamble S’Kallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and Lower Elwha tribes.
“Port Townsend is one of the only non-tribal communities to host a canoe landing and we have a unique chance to be a welcoming community for this important cultural event,” Main said.
Marilyn Bard, whose father, Emmett Oliver, was among those who began the Tribal Canoe Journey in 1989 as a way to revitalize Northwest Native American heritage, is traveling with the group and estimates that more than 40 canoes have gathered at the previous stop, Port Gamble.
The pullers and the entourage will camp on the Fort Worden parade grounds.
Main expects around 1,000 people to attend.
“This will be a wonderful sight to see and a powerful experience,” she said.
Main said that several Port Townsend sites have hosted the landing, but Fort Worden is the best equipped.
Due to the expected crowds, Main suggests that attendees use alternate forms of transportation and not expect to find parking on the Fort Worden grounds.
The canoes are expected to leave Fort Worden early Thursday morning and arrive later that day in Jamestown, to be greeted and hosted by the Jamestown S’Klallam.
On Friday, the group will land at Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles, for a two-day stay with the Lower Elwha.
The canoes are expected to land at Pillar Point on Sunday and reach Neah Bay on Monday, where they will be joined by those coming from the south from LaPush.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
