Annual paddle acquaints first nations youths with their heritage

Vancouver Sun newspaper, July 2, 2005

By Karin Mark

Wearing a woven cedar bark hat and electric blue lifejacket, Lekeyten peers at the faces around him.

"Today you are going to feel the strength of Mother Nature," the Kwantlen First Nation elder warns.

It's the start of another day during Pulling Together, an annual week-long canoe journey that concluded July 1 in Fort Langley. The journey, which teams first nations, police and civilian paddlers, aims to build bridges between the land's first inhabitants and those who came later. Youth paddle alongside elders and natives alongside non-natives, following ancient canoe paths and visiting native communities along the way.

This year, some 150 paddlers, supported by about 30 ground crew, left Harrison Lake June 25 and paddled 13 canoes 100 kilometres to arrive at Fort Langley during its Canada Day festivities. Shortly before arriving at their destination, the paddlers donned costumes – traditional regalia for the native members, uniforms for the police – creating a visual impact as they arrived at the Kwantlen First Nation reserve next to Fort Langley.

One day earlier in the journey, 150 people gathered under overcast skies for the ritual morning circle before launching 13 canoes into the Harrison River in Chehalis First Nation territory.

Lekeyten's message was not all sombre. Today's journey will be challenging, but "when everyone's pulling together, that canoe's going to be moving very easy for us."

Pulling Together was created in 2001 by now-retired RCMP Staff Sgt. Ed Hill, who spearheaded the 1997 Vision Quest canoe journey on the B.C. coast. Hill wanted to share the native culture he grew to love when working in Bella Bella.

This year's journey included members of some 20 first nations, about 25 police and RCMP representatives and a smaller number of non-native guests. The route changes each year but always includes the Fraser River.

Youth - who numbered 63 this year - are the focus. Many who attend are at-risk and have never paddled a canoe before, said Const. Wally Humphreys, this year's co-chair along with Staff. Sgt. Jim Dallin, a Metis.

According to Lekeyten, the key goal is to give native youth an identity  "because if that youth has no identity when they grow up, we lose them."

Cultural traditions prevail. The flotilla requests permission to land and depart at each stop and offers its hosts gifts and a cash donation for youth programs. In return, the hosts celebrate their guests with ceremonies and feasts. Most evenings are filled with drumming, dancing, singing and storytelling.

About mid-day Wednesday, the canoes paused as they reached the Fraser River. Ahead was the crossing of the Fraser, rife with opportunities to tip over or be forced into whirlpools.

"Forward!" the command is barked, and paddles drive into the water. The water seems alive under the paddle, and silt drums against the canoe - the Fraser hiss, Hill calls it. Well-timed strokes and experienced navigation propel the canoes safely across.

Before and after the crossing, the mood is relaxed and jovial. Waterfights and impromptu races intersperse sessions of contemplative paddling.

At one point, Hill initiates 15 minutes of silence in his canoe. Minds are liberated by rhythmic strokes of the paddle, the hiss of the sand, the feeling of connectedness and peace.

It's a microcosm for the individual journey each paddler takes. For some, the experience is life-changing. Tears are common during sharing circles. As the paddlers learn more about themselves and others, biases are replaced with understanding and friendship.

Belle Wilson's life changed forever after joining Pulling Together in 2003. Half Blood Indian and half Chinese, she was brought up to ignore her native bloodlines. "I discovered who I was on that journey," she said, tears forming. She is now completing a program to teach life skills to native youth.

As a child, 16-year-old Lisa Starr danced for Vision Quest in 1997, but later sometimes hid her Blackfoot roots.

"People would make fun of me. But there's nothing to be ashamed of," she said. "It's empowering."

Back on the river, the schedule is abandoned to the flow of the river. At times, all 14 canoes pull alongside each other and float down the river as a community. There is a feeling of shared energy, of acceptance, of serenity - a quintessential Pulling Together moment that no one wants to end.