Science to Join Tradition on Tribal Journey
19 Mar
In the Pacific Northwest each summer, tribal members from First Nations all along the coast paddle ornate canoes to a common destination for a festival of “healing, hope, happiness, honor and hospitality.”
This year, as many as 80 traditional, ocean-going canoes, from a variety of canoe cultures and nations, will make a two-week journey to Cowichan, British Columbia travelling from as far north as the Alaskan border and the Queen Charlotte Islands and as far south as Oregon State.
When the canoes descend upon the homelands of the Cowichan Tribes this summer, however, the vessels will have served a scientific purpose as well as a ceremonial one.
The Southern Oregon Mail Tribune published THIS Associated Press story reporting that canoes traveling along the major routes to Cowichan will carry water-quality testing systems on-board. Through a partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, the canoeists will sample water that has been the lifeblood of their cultures for centuries.
“We’ll get a snapshot that we’ll be able to compare each year to measure climate change,” said Eric Grossman, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey told the AP.
For more information on the Cowichan 2008 festivities, which include the 2008 North American Indigenous Games, click HERE.
The web-site of last year’s Tribal Gathering in Lummi,Washington can be found HERE.
