Canoe journey to recall history, advocate for future

Seventy-nine years to the day after the original Ceremony of Tears, about 80 paddlers will leave Crescent Bay in canoes June 14 for an eight-day journey to Kettle Falls, the site of the original ceremony that mourned the loss of salmon from the traditional fishing spot for Native Americans.

The Inchelium Language and Culture Association, in association with River Warriors and the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT), have organized the event for the third year in a row.

In addition to the 80 paddlers leaving from Crescent Bay for Kettle Falls, another 15-20 will leave Castlegar, British Columbia, for Kettle Falls to arrive there at the same time on June 22.

Many of the paddlers will be traveling in traditional dugout cedar canoes.

At Kettle Falls, an estimated 300 people will gather for a ceremony including eating traditionally cooked salmon provided by the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Members of the Colville Tribes, as well as other tribes associated with Kettle Falls, including the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Kalispell, will participate in the journey and ceremonies.

Stevey Seymour of ILCA said that anyone is welcome to join them for a part of or the entirety of the trip, or to see the paddlers off, or to welcome them to Kettle Falls.

A ceremony at Crescent Bay from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, June 14, will culminate in the paddlers leaving shore at 11 or a little before, Seymour said, and will include people singing and speaking.

Seymour explained that one of the primary purposes of the journey is to raise awareness of the effort to bring salmon back to the upper Columbia River.

Seymour said that UCUT’s “whole purpose is doing their best to keep the rivers going and get this passage [for the salmon], something the tribes have been working on a long time.”

A May 31 Tribal Tribune article quotes the Colville Tribes Natural Resources Director Cody Desautel as saying “If [Washington State Fish & Wildlife] hangs in there with us, we should have fish above the dam in August,” with the article further explaining that the tribe has explored using a “salmon cannon” made by Whooshh Innovations as a method of fish passage past the Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams.

Five out of 20 steelhead salmon had Upper Columbia ancestry, according to the Colville Tribes Fish & Wildlife Director Randy Friedlander, and UCUT Executive Director D.R. Michel said that when salmon reach Chief Joseph Dam they “circle for a couple weeks”...”looking for a way around that facility. That desire, whatever’s in those fish is still there.”

One concern with the return of salmon to the Upper Columbia, the article notes, is the presence of the predatory northern pike, which would pose a threat to salmon. A multi-agency effort is being made to attempt removing the non-native pike.

“There’s growing awareness,” Seymour said about the salmon issue. “One of our big things we hope for is a seat at the table for the Columbia River Treaty to be able to advocate.”

The Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada deals with issues such as regulating the flow of the river and the levels of Lake Roosevelt.

Seymour said she would like to see tribal members be involved in the negotiating process, but they haven’t yet gotten their seat at the table, at least not on the United States’ side.

She said that raising awareness of tribal traditional territories being in both the U.S. and Canada is another purpose of the journey, and that they work with border customs agencies from both countries to allow them to canoe across the border.

Seymour would also like to see recognition of tribal identification cards for passage across the borders.

Kettle Falls was a popular fishing spot among local tribes for thousands of years before the building of the Grand Coulee Dam prevented salmon from swimming upriver anymore, including to the falls that are now under the flooded river.

Currently, salmon can make it up river as far as Chief Joseph Dam.