Journey begins with a paddle stroke

Clouds hung over the waters at Port Hardy Thursday morning as Arvid Charlie's canoe sliced through the Pacific Ocean and started on its journey home.

Representing Cowichan Tribes, Charlie is paddling for Tribal Journeys 2008. He and his team of more than a dozen paddlers make up just one ocean-going canoe of the more than one hundred participating in the voyage, which is the largest in Tribal Journeys' nearly two-decade history.

On his phone from the road on Wednesday, Charlie talks about the 11-day journey that will take him toward Cowichan Bay through Johnstone Strait and then the Strait of Georgia.

“It's an adventure,” he says. “And it's a way to pass on my skills to the younger generation.”

In fact, some of Charlie's grandchildren are paddling alongside him in the Tribal Journeys canoe, which was crafted by Cowichan Tribes member Angus Smith.

And what skills is he passing along?

“Respect yourself, and of course respect the weather,” he explains. “You need to work with the weather, not against it.”

He and his fellow paddlers have spent the last month and a half preparing for the journey, and some of the younger paddlers have been training even longer.

“We've practiced a lot of different canoe techniques,” said Charlie. “We want to know what to expect, and we've been checking the tides.”

And Charlie knows what he's talking about it. He's participated in four other Tribal Journeys voyages, and used to be an avid participant in west coast war races.

At 65 years old, Charlie says he's too old to race canoes anymore, but that doesn't stop him from crafting them. Even the day before he departed for Port Hardy, he and his son Charlie Charlie were shaping paddles for a race canoe.

“The biggest difference (between a race canoe and a Tribal Journeys canoe) is in a war race, it's a 30 to 45 minute race and then you're done,” he says. “For Tribal Journeys, it's all day. They're not as fast, but they can handle much tougher waters.”

The shortest distance Charlie will travel during his journey will be 20 kilometres, which he estimates will take between five and six hours.

During the longer days, however, he and his companions will travel 65 kilometres — a distance that will take approximately 14 hours to paddle.

“We hope to cut that down though, with the sail (that has been rigged up in the canoe),” he added.

Other Tribal Journeys participants are coming from even further away, such as the Queen Charlotte Islands, Oregon and Alaska.

Tribal Journeys co-ordinator Dawnda Nahanee said there are four routes being travelled, and are based on the colours of the aboriginal medicine wheel.

The north route, represented by white, includes the paddlers from Bella Coola — who have travelled for three weeks on the water — and Vancouver Island. The south, or yellow route includes those travelling through Puget Sound, while the western, or black route, includes those coming from Washington. The east, or red route, includes those travelling from the San Juan Islands.

“I don't think anyone really understands the magnitude of this,” Nahanee said.

She expects 10,000 spectators on July 28, the day all the canoes land in Cowichan Bay.

“Be patient, that's all I can say, because wind and tide play a huge role (in bringing the canoes in),” she said.

However, Tribal Journeys organizers have been hard at work to make sure the landing goes as smoothly as possible.

A “soft landing” is planned at the Cherry Point Marina to get the boats readied for their final lap to Cowichan Bay.

What follows will be a large-scale ceremonial spectacle.

“Volunteers will hold the canoes as each colour, which has one speaker, asks permission to come ashore into Cowichan territory,” Nahanee said. “Each canoe will give its name on a microphone passed down the line.”

Started in 1989 with its Paddle to Seattle, Tribal Journeys has come a long way, and Nahanee said she expects that ever-growing tradition to continue in Cowichan with an increase in canoes and spectators.

To volunteer or offer assistance to Tribal Journeys 2008, contact 250-746-2008.