Thirty-six canoes pulled onto Fort Worden State Park’s beach Wednesday, with many of the travelers, who are on the 2010 Tribal Canoe Journey to Neah Bay, arriving earlier than expected.
“We started early, and the water was perfect,” said Redwolf Krise, a member of the Skokomish tribe.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better trip.”
Krise was in one of the hand-built canoes that made the trip from Port Gamble to Port Townsend. None had been expected to arrive until after 1 p.m. but, having left at 6:30 a.m., the first canoes showed up at 11:30 a.m., with all ashore by 2:30 p.m.
The canoes are expected to leave Fort Worden early this morning for Jamestown, arrive in Port Angeles on Friday, stop at Pillar Point on Sunday and reach Neah Bay on Monday, where they will be joined by those coming from the south from LaPush for six days of dancing, singing, storytelling and celebration.
At Fort Worden, each canoe circled offshore once before a puller asked permission to land and requested the hospitality of the hosts.
Since Port Townsend is not native land, the hosts rotated among the Port Gamble, Jamestown and Lower Elwha tribes.
Respect among tribes
As each canoe circled, the hosts sang the “Ed Charles Welcome Song,” of which different versions are used throughout the journey, and spoke in both Klallam and English.
“Honored friends,” said the hosts, “it is good that you have arrived in Port Townsend. Come ashore, come ashore.”
The permission process is a traditional Native American ceremony, a symbol of the respect among tribes, said Port Gamble S’Klallam Chairman Jeromy Sullivan.
“Tribes might disagree, but they would never disrespect,” he said. “Even if two tribes were not getting along, they would still ask permission.
“These occasions are important for cultural renewal and to teach our children about respect,” he added.
“That is what I want my son to learn,” he said, pointing to a small boy playing in the water.
While some things stay the same, others change.
A traditional permission ceremony can be small and low-key, but that wasn’t the case at Fort Worden, where some 1,200 people — counting both visitors and canoe journey travelers — joined in for the loud and crowded event.
And while the canoe skippers had to shout over the sound of the waves, the hosts were using wireless microphones which carried their voices through two large speakers situated upon a nearby pier.
Mary McQuillen
The event took an emotional turn as the last canoes came in, when skipper Larry Nabanee from Vancouver evoked the memory of Mary McQuillen, a Makah elder living in Port Townsend who died in March 2007 at the age of 75 of pneumonia.
McQuillen was credited with turning Port Townsend into a stop on the annual Tribal Canoe Journey in 2001.
Several members of McQuillen’s family were on hand Wednesday, including her son, Walter McQuillen, who said “it fills my heart to hear these words.”
Each canoe carried five to 15 people, with many of them switching “pullers” from a support boat should one grow weary.
Much of the support was on land, as each canoe had a land crew that traveled by car or van between the arrival sites.
Tent city
As a result, more than half of the Fort Worden parade ground was covered with a tent city, with about 15 different campsites taking care of the crew.
The West Shore Canoe Family, which includes members of the Lummi tribe, had nine cars, 18 tents and 80 people, in addition to the 32 people piloting their canoes.
This resulted in a self-sufficient community of 112 people, since they also brought along a cooking staff.
“We leave as early as the canoes, drive to the next destination and set everything up,” said Antone George, who was supervising the operation.
“So we have lunch waiting for the pullers when they arrive.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
