'Canoe Journey' 2026 comes to an end

The 2026 Paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch  Canoe Journey came to a close early Thursday morning, Aug. 6, following a near weeklong gathering of Pacific Northwest Indigenous  tribes celebrating each other's cultures. 

The Nisqually Indian Tribe hosted this year’s canoe journey for the first time since 2016. More than 90 canoe families participated in the event.

“Canoes for us have always been a staple of life, this is who we are,” said Nisqually Indian Tribe Member Hanford McCloud.

The canoe journey began on Friday, July 31, with a soft landing at Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom.

Members of the public watched as canoe families paddled their way to shore where they received gifts, food and water from local volunteers and members of the Steilacoom Tribe. One of the gifts was a wreath made from cedar boughs. The wreath is a blessing for safety on the water and good medicine.

Canoe families left Sunnyside Beach and paddled to the ceremonial landing by the beaches along the Sequalitchew Creek Trail in DuPont. Support boats guided them through the water to each landing.

At the ceremonial landing in DuPont, the canoe families followed protocol by asking members of the Nisqually Indian Tribe for permission to come ashore.

Once permission was granted, the canoe families paddled to Solo Point where trailers took their canoes up to Nisqually Indian Reservation. Shuttles transported the family members to campsites on Nisqually land where they got ready for protocol celebrations.

Protocol celebrations 

 Thousands of spectators gathered  inside a makeshift tent, known as a longhouse,  and watched as canoe families shared songs, dances, gifts and traditional prayers with each other.

“Protocol days to me are a way of us expressing not only who we are, but exercising our sovereignty right. Now when we express who we are, we’re individual families, we’re not really tribes per se," McCloud said.

"Within these families, you could hear these songs, we have our dances, we have our regalia. So, it’s almost a place for us to share who we are when it comes to representing our nation or village."

There were also vendors outside of the longhouse selling food, clothing, jewelry, and arts and crafts items to members of the public.

According to McCloud, the Nisqually Indian Tribe prepared for the past two years to host this year’s Canoe Journey. Some of the preparations included building the longhouse, creating  gifts to be given away to guests, and  building the canoes and paddles. 

The Saxman Tribe in Ketchikan, Alaska, will host next year’s Canoe Journey.

History

The Canoe Journey in the Pacific Northwest region dates back to 1989, where it was sparked by the Paddle to Seattle, an event that was part of Washington state’s Centennial Celebration. Since then, canoe families have voyaged from their home communities to different sites across the Pacific Northwest.

The Canoe Journey is one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous people anywhere in the world. Families from American tribes, First Nations peoples, Alaskan natives, Intuit, Maori, Native Hawaiians and other Indigenous peoples from across the world have participated in past Canoe Journeys.