Each year for the last 20 years, the Tribal Canoe Journeys brings together native tribal members from Washington, British Columbia and Alaska.  This year as many as 10,000 camped, danced, and told stories in Suquamish, on the Kitsap Peninsula, just across from Bainbridge Island.  Some of the tribal members had paddled by canoe from as far away as VAncouver Island.  A total of 87 canoes made the journey this year.  According to a PI.com article, the journey "hosted by a different tribe each year, is a pledge of sobriety, and a celebration of unity and traditional Indian values".

This year, the Tribal Canoe Journey went back to first principles: zero-waste.  Tina Jackson, the journey's hosting coordinator, reminded readers that Indians are the original environmentalists.  "We originally lived in harmony with this land. … We had a very balanced relationship with the world."

For more information on the Tribal Canoe Journeys, see the official website of the Tribal Canoe Journeys.  The photo above is of the Grande Ronde Chinook canoe family at the 2008 Tribal Canoe Journey in Swinomish, Washington.  Photo by the U.S. Geological Survey under Creative Commons.