PORT TOWNSEND — Clinton McCloud of Tacoma steered his canoe to the shore of Port Townsend and stood up in the rear, holding his paddle aloft in his left hand.
“We ask permission to come ashore from the people who have traveled these waters for generations,” McCloud yelled out to the people on shore.
“We ask permission of the people who have always been here, we ask permission of the ancestors, we ask permission to come ashore.”
Sabrina McQuillen, a representative of the Makah tribe, responded:
“We welcome you, come ashore.”
Seventeen canoes in the ongoing Tribal Canoe Journey arrived in Port Townsend waters just after 2 p.m. on Monday, and all 17 asked permission to come ashore the same way.
“It’s traditional protocol,” McQuillen said.
“It doesn’t matter if there is one, none or 100 people standing on the beach — you ask permission to land or it’s considered an act of war.”
