Published in The Seattle Times on-line on August 29, 2024
and in Pacific NW Magazine of the printed Times on Sept. 1, 2024
First ‘Paddle to Seattle’ gave distinction to 1989 state centennial
By Jean Sherrard
When Emmett Oliver, an elder of the Quinault tribe, reviewed plans drawn up for the 1989 state centennial celebrations, something was missing. The state’s rich maritime history would span sailing ships to mosquito-fleet classics. But no mention of canoes.
For thousands of years, canoes plied the lakes, rivers and oceans, carrying fishers, trappers, traders and warriors, besides reflecting the craftsmanship and artistry of their creators.
Oliver’s own background had given him unique insights into the crosscurrents of heritage and tradition. Educated in both Indian and non-native schools, he had joined the Coast Guard during World War II, eventually rising to the rank of commander.
Washington’s director of Indian education since 1971, Oliver was a passionate advocate for engaging and empowering tribal communities, so much of whose culture, language and traditions had been stripped away. Following his appointment to the state Centennial Commission by Gov. John Spellman, Oliver seized a rich opportunity to amplify that mission, which he presented to native councils across the region.
Commemorating a century of statehood, he said, would provide the ideal setting to mark a much longer Indigenous history. And what better symbol than his proposed Canoe Project, featuring a fleet of newly carved, ocean-worthy canoes to demonstrate the ongoing vitality of Coast Salish culture?
Dozens of long, traditional canoes, paddling in convoy across ancestral waters, hadn’t been seen since the state’s founding. With good reason. No new canoes had been carved in half a century. For Oliver, however, relearning traditional skills was not a bug but a feature that would connect tribes to their seafaring past.
It would provide “a chance for apprentice carvers to learn from masters,” he argued. What’s more, the wisdom of tribal elders would be vital, providing “techniques of carving, pulling, the spirituality involved with canoes, and [teaching] the paddling songs which used to ring out across the water.”
Logistic hurdles remained.
To acquire enough ancient red cedar logs of sufficient size, Oliver secured permission from the U.S. Forest Service to harvest two trees for each participating tribe under the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act. An unanticipated wrinkle: extra-long transport vehicles had to be contracted to deliver the massive logs.
On July 18, 1989, the dream came true. The “Paddle to Seattle,” the first of many canoe journeys to come, arrived at Golden Gardens Park, the traditional land of the Duwamish.
On a Coast Guard “follow” boat, Oliver oversaw the celebration, joyfully marked by tribes from across the northwest and beyond. And for the first time in 100 years, a flotilla of long canoes skimmed across the Salish Sea.
WEB EXTRAS
For a fascinating lecture about the history of the Canoe Journey by Marylin Oliver-Bard, presented during a recent cruise on the Virginia V, please click on her photo below.
For more photos of this summer’s Paddle to Puyallup.
