REACH students and staff in Lyle get a canoe lesson

Many of you will remember our former pre-Kindergarten teacher and current Lyle Secondary REACH program coordinator Heather Lopez and her husband, Miguel. In the process of moving their tribal canoe from Lyle to a new location, Miguel agreed to come by the school and share a little about the family’s canoe culture with students and staff.

Here is the story of the canoe in Heather’s own words:

“This canoe or, as it’s traditionally known, “Kanim,” is our family canoe that my father and sons, Phoenix, My’eengan and Anahuy (aka Bear), skipper. It’s meant to be filled with many children and elders as it travels along our ancestral highways. Our children have grown up paddling traditional canoes, and living the canoe culture.

To us it’s not just a canoe, it’s a way of life. Every year our family participates in the annual Tribal Canoe Journey, which was brought back in 1989 by Emmett Oliver, during ‘The Paddle to Seattle.’

Each year since, a tribal community has hosted the canoe journey. When the canoes come ashore the host tribes ancestral homelands, we ask permission to come ashore to share our canoe families’ songs and dance during protocol.

This is what we call a Potlatch, it lasts for several days and includes songs, dance, feasts, and giveaways. The host tribe is always the last to share in song and dance, during this time the host tribe gives canoe families permission to leave their shores.

If you looked or look closely at the painting of the horse, you will find a hidden image. Can anyone tell us what hidden image you see?

HayuMasi (Many Thanks),
The Dorsey and Lopez Family