PHOTOS, VIDEO: Canoes leave Alki for next stop on Paddle to Nisqually

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(WSB photos/video unless otherwise credited)

8:28 AM: If you want to watch the tribal canoes’ departure for the next stop on the Paddle to Nisqually journey, get down to Alki fast. The first canoe has just departed, after its skipper called out thanks to the Muckleshoots for hosting them here while they travel to the Nisqually Nation. They’re headed to Tacoma, so you should be able to see them off Beach Drive and points south, too.

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8:48 AM: The pace of the departures is picking up.

9:35 AM: Most of the canoes have headed out, and the flotilla of motorized spectator/support boats is departing too. More photos after we get back to HQ.

10:48 AM: Thanks to Harley Broe for this view from Beach Drive:

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1:55 PM: And David Hutchinson shares these views from Alki Point:

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Yes, that’s a real buoy in the background of the photo immediately above. The usually-annual canoe journey, as explained on the Paddle to Nisqually site’s “about” page (where you’ll also find the history), is for “… bringing together natives and non-natives with a common goal of providing a drug and alcohol free event and offering pullers a personal journey towards healing and recovery of culture, traditional knowledge and spirituality. … Canoe Journey gatherings are rich in meaning and cultural significance. Canoe families travel great distances as their ancestors did and participating in the journey requires physical and spiritual discipline. At each stop, canoe families follow certain protocols, they ask for permission to come ashore, often in their native languages. At night in longhouses there is gifting, honoring and the sharing of traditional prayers, drumming, songs and dances. Meals, including evening dinners of traditional foods, are provided by the host nations.”

This year’s journey will end in southernmost Puget Sound on Saturday, where tens of thousands of people are expected to welcome the canoe families as they land. One week of ceremonies and celebrations will follow.

1 Reply to "PHOTOS, VIDEO: Canoes leave Alki for next stop on Paddle to Nisqually"

  • Kate July 28, 2016 (9:52 am)

    Seeing this out my window now as they pass by the Fauntleroy Ferry dock at 9:50.  What a sight.

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