canoe journey
What is Canoe Journey?
Canoe Journey is an annual Indigenous cultural event held in the Pacific Northwest where Native Nations from Washington, Alaska, British Columbia and beyond travel by traditional dugout (or modern fiberglass) canoe along the Salish Sea and surrounding waterways to reach the host Nation for a week-long gathering. This final landing is one of the most powerful parts of the experience—canoes arriving one by one, crews announcing their Nation, and being formally welcomed ashore.
At its heart, Canoe Journey is both a physical voyage and a cultural revival. Canoe families spend months preparing—carving and restoring canoes, training crews, practicing song and dance, and planning routes. When the journey begins, each canoe is welcomed at every stop by host communities with food, songs, and protocol that honor safety, respect, and shared responsibility on the water.
Canoe Journey is about healing and identity. It is a living expression of sovereignty, relationship to the water, and continuity of culture that has existed long before colonial borders.
2026 paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch:
The 2026 Paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch is hosted by the Nisqually Tribe.
Canoe Journey 2026, Paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch, continues an inter-tribal celebration and annual gathering of Northwest indigenous nations. The annual tribal journey in the Pacific Northwest region was sparked by the Paddle to Seattle in 1989 as part of Washington State’s Centennial celebration. Many Canoe Journeys have been held since 1989, when pullers (the preferred term because of the pulling motion on the paddle) from Canada, Alaska and Washington voyaged from their home communities to sites in the Pacific Northwest. The Canoe Journey has grown to include over 100 canoes and the participation of Canoe Families from other native canoe cultures, including Native American tribes, First Nations peoples, Alaska Natives, Inuit, Maori, Native Hawaiians, and other indigenous peoples from across the world.
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.
The Nisqually Tribe has participated in the annual Canoe Journeys since 1994 and has used the Canoe Journeys to strengthen its culture, its community, and its families. Historical cultural practices, from carving techniques to gifting ceremonies, cedar weaving to regalia making, have been revived and rediscovered, while songs have resurfaced to be shared at Journey's end. The Tribe's pride of place and history are once again enriching the lives of young and old alike. The Nisqually Canoe family has learned and taught many of the older skills, and these practices are once again taken up by tribal community members.
https://www.nisqually-nsn.gov/heritage/Medicine_Creek_Potlatch_Journey
tHE Duwamish Canoe Family
2025 PADDLE TO ELWHA
2024 POWER PADDLE TO PUYALLUP
The Duwamish Canoe Family traveled from Seattle to Puyallup in the Tribe’s new fiberglass canoe, the Kikisoblu (Princess Angeline). The final pull to Puyallup was enjoyed by 2 youth, 6 adults and 1 esteemed elder.
