Members of the Tseshaht First Nation are gearing up for a cultural journey where they will travel by canoe to the Wei Wai Kum territory in Campbell River for this year’s Tribal Journey event.
Tribal Canoe Journeys is a celebrated event for the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Indigenous Nations from the coast of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington state participate every year. This year canoe families will meet in Campbell River from Aug. 5–10 for a cultural celebration.
Since Tribal Canoe Journeys’ inception in 1989, canoe families travel in ocean-going canoes—many made of cedar, others made using more modern techniques and materials—and visit First Nations communities en route to the final host destination.
“It’s kind of a way for people to get together and learn more about each other,” said Bertha Paull, who is on the ground crew for the Tseshaht canoe family and was instrumental in organizing a Tseshaht canoe group. “It’s a drug and alcohol free event and we’re more focused on trying to get the youth involved in something like that.”
This is the first year the Tseshaht have a canoe participating in the event.
Before arriving in Campbell River, the canoes will stop in First Nation communities along the way to share cultural songs, stories and dances.
Paull said the event is a way to remember commonly-used cultural practices of the past and strengthen traditional methods of transportation.
“We were an ocean-going society, we were whalers, everybody used to be out on a canoe now some have never even been on a canoe,” Paull said. “We’re trying to revive what once was a big part of our communities. I’ve attended quite a few [Tribal Journey events] and they’re just amazing, it’s just a very uplifting thing, especially for the youth, and that’s why we started one here.”
Typically close to 100 canoes participate in the event each year and depending on distance, the trip can take up to a month. Tseshaht paddlers will depart from Barkley Sound on July 18 and paddle up the west coast of Vancouver Island, rounding the northern tip to get to Campbell River.
Paull said a support boat will be on hand to assist paddlers in the case of rough waters or windy conditions. She also said the Tseshaht crew will be travelling with a group from Ahousaht who have been participating in the journey for several years.
“I’m part of the road crew so I’ll travel from [Port Alberni] in a car and meet them at their next nation, set up the tents and make sure they have food,” Paull said.
Anyone wanting to donate to the Tseshaht canoe family or for more information on how to get involved, call Bertha Paull at 778-421-2477 or email witchita13@gmail.com.
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