A young Native boy welcoming the tribes in their canoes with his conch shell as they arrive from up and down the West Coast. Some tribes have been paddling from as far north as Alaska and from southern Oregon. Can you imagine having to paddle for more than 73 days in a skiny canoe with 6 - 10 others - talk about close quarters! In total there were over 100 canoes that came to the event. There were over 10,000 spectators cheering them on as they arrived.
This is a pre-event to our North American Indigenous Games which will bring over 6,000 young native atheletic participants from all over N.A to compete in over 15 sports in and around our valley. Colleen and I are volunteering so keep in touch with our blog as we post pictures of the events of this momentous historic event next week.
My Aunt Shirley passed away yesterday from a heart attack. She was a wonderful woman and she was a very caring person and loved by all. She was a favorite Aunt of mine and I have vivid memories of her and my Uncle Rod. They sold us the auto wrecking business in Dawson Creek in 1979 and then retired down to Salt Spring.
Here's a picture of Mom and Aunt Shirley christmas eve 2004. Two wonderful sisters.
