Gallery: Canoes arrive at Waypoint Park

May 25, 2024 4:15 pm

Lummi Nation members arrive at Waypoint Park on Saturday, May 25 during the Gathering of the Eagles canoe journey. "I will not ask permission to come ashore because this is my ancestral land," said Raymond Hillaire, who's grandfather owned the canoe. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Lummi Nation Chairman Tony Hillaire, left, smiles as Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund greets his children, niece and nephew while attending the event with his father Darrell. "This is where we come from. This is our home. This is our original territory. This is where our ancestors raised their children. This is where they fished. This is where they walked their way of life," Hillaire said to the crowd later. "We’re thankful to share this with you, to start looking back and remembering our history — remembering it’s not just our family’s history. But, it’s anybody’s that call this place home." (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Freddie Lane, right, honors local elected officials as they wait for the canoes to arrive in the Whatcom Waterway. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Canoes and accompanying kayakers enter the Whatcom Waterway. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

The crowd welcomes the canoes into Waypoint Park after a long, chilly paddle from the Lummi Nation Stommish Grounds. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

The canoes line up to be welcomed ashore. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

The Kingfisher of Orcas canoe is the first to arrive to shore after braving more than a week of wet weather through the Salish Sea. The canoe included Indigenous people from South Africa and Australia. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Freddie Lane, left, welcomes canoes to the shore. Lane, a member of the Lummi Nation, is one of the leaders and organizers of the annual canoe journey. "When I went to boarding school, I used to dream of days like this, bringing all our religions together, bringing all our walks of life," he said later. "We all have ancestors, so clear your mind, have a good heart." (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

A canoe is carried across Roeder Avenue and into Maritime Heritage Park. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

The canoe is put down in the grass beneath the Whatcom Museum, where a longhouse once stood. At the park, local food trucks waited to feed hungry travelers and live music played. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

The Carvers Camp (Octopus Canoe) from Tacoma is the last to arrive. The canoe returned to Bellingham for the first time since it was built there around 30 years ago. It is the only canoe to paddle on all four of the Gathering of the Eagles. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

A cedar branch floats in water left in a canoe. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)

Around 200 people celebrated the arrival of canoes on Saturday, May 25 at Waypoint Park in Bellingham, where the Gathering of the Eagles canoe journey came to a close.

The fourth annual journey takes several canoe families along the “ancestral highway” of the Coast Salish people from Anacortes through the San Juan islands and to the Lummi Nation. For the first time, the multi-day journey ended at Waypoint Park along the Whatcom Waterway in Bellingham. Ceremonies included a blessing of the water and an offering of support for Ski to Sea.

This year’s journey included local members of the Lummi Nation and others from as far as South Africa, Hawaii and Australia.

Gallery: Canoes arrive at Waypoint Park

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