Tribes and First Nations taking part in 2011 Paddle to Swinomish

Monday, July 25, 2011  

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community of Washington is hosting hundreds of paddlers from tribes in the U.S. and First Nations in Canada this week.

Starting today, more than 100 canoes will land on the reservation as part of the Paddle To Swinomish 2011. They traveled from as far away as the Quinault Nation in western Washington and from the Nuxalk Nation in British Columbia.

“The first time we landed, the feeling was just unexplainable,” Charlie Trevathan, a member of the Port Gamble S'Kallam Tribe, told The New York Times of his family's first trip in 2000. “I cannot put it into words. Ever since then, we’ve gone back every year.”

The celebration runs through Sunday.

Get the Story:
A Northwest Journey by Canoe to Reconnect With the Old Ways (The New York Times 7/25)

Jeromy Sullivan: Canoe Journey a celebration of tribal culture (7/13)