Paddle to Muckleshoot: Honoring the Beauty

 Paddle to Muckleshoot: Honoring the Beauty

By Northwest Treaty Tribes, Censored News, July 31, 2023

"We've been expecting you," said Jason Elkins, Chair of the Muckleshoot Tribal Council.

Elkins was greeting one of the many canoes that approached Alki Beach on Sunday, the celebratory landing day of the Muckleshoot Canoe Journey. Under sunny skies, tribes from the Pacific Northwest and beyond celebrated participating in the culturally important journey once again after several years off because of COVID.

Prior to arriving at Alki, the canoes had departed from Suquamish that morning, where they had a day of rest before the final push.

(Below) Canoe families participating in this year's Paddle to Muckleshoot were welcomed by the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe on Wednesday in Sequim. More than 30 canoes were brought ashore after an early morning pull from Lower Elwha. Canoes stopped at Port Townsend and Port Gamble S'Klallam this week, then will land in Suquamish on Friday, followed by the final landing at Alki Beach hosted by Muckleshoot on Sunday.

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Kiro News reports, "Hundreds of people lined Alki Beach to watch dozens of canoes land after days of travel. The Canoe Journey’s last stop is Alki Beach. The long haul began in British Columbia. “Without our culture, without our beliefs we’re empty, we’re an empty shell,” said the Little Brother canoe’s skipper, Robbie Louis. “Those songs and dances share history those songs and dances tell stories, those songs and dances relieve us of our aches and pains and our cries and our sorrows and our anger.”