Every year, a growing number of communities come together to participate in Tribal Journeys: a canoe journey movement grounded in healing, community, and – most of all – the reclamation of traditions once suppressed. For SC’IȺNEW̱, the annual canoe journey also provides an avenue to reestablish connection with Klallam relatives near and far.
Canoe families arriving on SC’IȺNEW̱ shores for Host Day during Tribal Journeys 2025.
The traditional lands of the Klallam span from the northern Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver Island. Since time immemorial, the Klallam travelled freely between villages in communally crafted canoes – shaped out of old-growth cedar into a form perfected by master carvers – sharing language and traditions, building families, and engaging in trade. In the mid-1800’s, some of the Klallam migrated from Port Angeles and built a village site at SC’IȺNEW̱, setting the foundation for the linguistic and cultural connection between SC’IȺNEW̱ and other Klallam groups.
However, colonial contact strained that connection. Now, the Klallam are divided into bands – the Jamestown S’Klallam, Lower Elwha Klallam, the Port Gamble S’Klallam, and SC’IȺNEW̱, collectively known in the so-called United States (US) as the Four Sister Tribes – and by geographic lines, with all but SC’IȺNEW̱ living in the US. Cultural suppression worsened the division, causing the near loss of the shared Klallam language and traditional practices essential to connection, such as canoe crafting and canoe-based travel.
Tribal Journeys was created to revitalize these traditional cultural practices and restore the connection among relatives – both within and beyond the Klallam.
The journey to create Tribal Journeys as it stands today began in 1989, 100 years after the Klallam stopped using canoes as a main mode of transportation, when Emmett Oliver of Quinault set out to ensure Washington’s 1989 centennial celebration included recognition of First Nations. To achieve this, Oliver organized the “Paddle to Seattle,” the first canoe journey of the century. 40 canoes from 17 communities joined in, all ultimately landing at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle for the centennial celebration.
Four years later, Frank Brown of Heiltsuk Nation invited relatives to embark on another journey, this time to Bella Bella – a 1200 mile/1900 kilometer roundtrip journey for those travelling from Washington. Only two of the 23 participating canoes completed the entire journey. According to a Tribal Journeys handbook, Elders at Bella Bella greeted arriving canoes with tears in their eyes, saying “they thought they would never see the canoe land on their beaches ever again.”
Since then – apart from the years impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – relatives have gathered annually for a Tribal Journeys event. Participation grows exponentially with each passing year; recent estimates show over 12,000 people – representing communities across the so-called U.S., Canada, and New Zealand – participate annually, adding momentum to the cultural revitalization movement. In the words of Michael Campbell, a SC’IȺNEW̱ Skipper who has participated in Tribal Journeys for his entire life:
What this whole event is made for is to revitalize our culture and to practice as our people have formerly. We’re traveling on all of our traditional highways and practicing protocol the entire route.
SC’IȺNEW̱ ‘s participation in Tribal Journeys started over 20 years ago thanks to the efforts of the Charles family. Gordon Charles, his wife, and his kids have been participating in Tribal Journeys since the Paddle to Bella Bella in 1993. When the family moved to SC’IȺNEW̱, they began participating using a canoe borrowed from Sooke. After a few years, the Band purchased a fibreglass canoe that continues to support SC’IȺNEW̱’s participation in Tribal Journeys today.
SC’IȺNEW̱’s Canoe Family bringing our canoe to shore during Tribal Journeys 2025.
In the beginning, only a small group of approximately 12 community members from SC’IȺNEW̱ joined in. Over the years momentum has grown, and now approximately 70 community members participate. SC’IȺNEW̱’s youth look forward to Tribal Journeys year after year, a designated committee – SC’IȺNEW̱ Canoe Family Committee – plans and leads the events, and SC’IȺNEW̱ even shares its own songs gifted by Bruce Charles.
During Tribal Journeys 2025, Campbell shared the impact of SC’IȺNEW̱’s ongoing participation in Tribal Journeys on his life:
This means everything to me. This is one of the largest parts of my life. We plan approximately six months of the year planning specifically for this because it allows us to share and be shared with by so many Nations. It includes everyone from the top down, from our Chief and Council to our Elders to people like myself, as well as all of our youth. This means the world to me.
Bernice Millette of the Charles family, who has participated in Tribal Journeys on behalf of SC’IȺNEW̱ for 20 years, echoed this sentiment, saying “we host because it’s really important to bring the families together – to sing, to dance, and to share this time.”
Participation in Tribal Journeys has given SC’IȺNEW̱ a direct avenue to reconnect with the Klallam and other relatives. In 2025, for example, SC’IȺNEW̱ had the opportunity to serve as a host Nation to approximately 24 canoe families overnight as they made their way to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. For that event, the SC’IȺNEW̱ Tribal Journeys Committee chose to welcome canoes at Aylard Farm in East Sooke Park, a stretch of traditional land, before sharing songs, stories, dances, and a meal. After hosting the visiting canoes for a night, SC’IȺNEW̱ joined them for the remainder of the journey to Lower Elwha.
SC’IȺNEW̱’s Canoe approaching the shore on Host Day during Tribal Journeys 2025.
The enthusiastic support for Tribal Journeys year after year has created a springboard for broader cultural revitalization. Not only are relatives now coming together on an annual basis to build relationships and share language, songs, and stories, but the next generation is now reclaiming the use of canoes for traditional hunting and fishing practices.
Canoe use, for example, allows for the collection of important fishing and hunting materials such as q̕ʷq̕ʷúʔəŋ̕ /₭O,EṈ (Bull Kelp), sčx̣áyč/ ȾEXȾEX (Stinging Nettle). and important materials used to craft SX̱OLE (reef net).
SC’IȺNEW̱ is grateful to everyone who has contributed to the resurgence of Coast Salish culture through Tribal Journeys – including the Charles family – and to everyone who continues to participate today.
Want to join in Tribal Journeys this year? In Chief Chipps’ words, “everyone is welcome – that’s what Tribal Journeys is all about!” Sign up for SC’IȺNEW̱’s newsletter to receive more information about SC’IȺNEW̱ ‘s participation in the 2026 Paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch.
Then, explore the following resources to learn more:
To stay up to date on this story and the other ways SC’IȺNEW̱ is working to create prosperity for membership, be sure to sign up for the SC’IȺNEW̱ newsletter.