SWINOMISH, Wash. — It’s a sunny summer day. A day when many kids are
playing at the beach, hanging out at the mall or playing video games at
home. According to statistics, some may be making unhealthy choices, like
smoking or drinking.

But Cheyenne and Raven Golliver are running barefoot in a field of
knee-length grass in the shadow of the Swinomish longhouse, the warm breeze
blowing through their hair.

When they’re finished, Cheyenne and Raven will have none of the soda, chips
or power drinks their friends enjoy. The sisters — ages 11 and 9 — are in
training as members of the War Chief Canoe Club.

Paddlers say canoe racing brings out the best in them: Daily practices, no
caffeine or stimulants, no sugar, no smoking, no drinking. Some have never
tried cigarettes, alcohol or drugs and don’t want to. Others have taken the
wrong path but are returning to healthy living.

The incentives: Self-discipline, self-respect and well-being. And plying
the waters the same way their ancestors did.

“It’s who we are and what we do,” said Autumn Washington, 23, a member of
Lummi Nation’s canoe club. “It is part of our culture.”

Canoe paddling is built upon respect. The canoe races at Snee-oosh, on the
Swinomish Reservation, began July 16 with a blessing. Canoes were brushed
with cedar. “It’s a form of cleansing, a way of caring for the paddler and
the canoe,” said Wayne Morris, Tsartlip, skipper of the Geronimo Canoe Club
in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia.

“A canoe is a living thing. We treat it with the utmost respect, like you’d
treat a family member. When you’re in a canoe, you don’t get mad, you don’t
swear.”

Nick Clark, 15, of the Swinomish crew said canoes must be treated with
care. “You can’t leave them laying around. You don’t let them touch the
beach. You don’t let them get scratched — the canoe will feel it. And no
swearing or you will tip.”

STEEPED IN TRADITION

The canoe represents the central role cedar plays in the life of the first
peoples of the Northwest Coast. Cedar provided wood for houses and fiber
for clothing, fishing nets and other goods. Canoe carving is a prominent
art form. Canoes were used in fishing and in burials. They carried people
to gatherings, harvests and camps.

Paddlers learn that to participate, you’ve got to take care of your body,
mind and spirit just as the ancestors did. You’ve got to be fit and
disciplined if you’re going to pull with others — this is a sport where
being in sync can mean the difference between winning and losing.

And you’ve got to be a team player; if you don’t practice, you don’t
paddle.

The Golliver sisters’ training is paying off, as both are first-year
competitors. They perform about two years ahead of schedule. At the Lummi
Stommish in June, Cheyenne and Raven took fourth and fifth place,
respectively, in singles.

Like their counterparts outside of Indian country, parents, skippers and
coaches know that tradition and healthy activity can turn the tide in
substance abuse.

Tobacco use among American Indians and Alaska Natives in Washington state
is 37 percent, compared to 22 percent among non-Indians, according to the
American Indian Health Commission for Washington State.

In a 1997 report, the IHS reported the alcohol death rate for American
Indians and Alaska Natives age 15 — 24 was 5.5 deaths per 100,000
population, compared to .03 for non-Indians. The drug-related death rate
for the same age group was 3.3 deaths per 100,000, compared to 3.0 for
non-Indians.

Porter said he expects canoe club participation will help turn the tide
locally and will improve performance in school as well.

Washington, who has been racing for 13 years, said the self-discipline she
got from paddling helped her in school. “It made me try hard in everything
else,” she said. “It teaches you about life. How you train is how you are
in life.”

Paddlers also learn to encourage each other. “When someone feels like
giving up, someone else will be there encouraging them to go on,” said
Raynie Solomon, 14, of the Lummi crew.

Washington added, “They don’t always have parents there to support them. We
tell them they can do anything they want if they put their minds to it.”

CULTURAL REVIVAL

At the Swinomish event, paddlers competed in seven singles divisions, four
doubles divisions, four six-man divisions and five 11-man divisions. Races
were held over two days. Besides Lummi and Swinomish, other communities
represented were Chehalis, Chemainus Bay, Nooksack, Squamish and West
Saanich.

Fifteen years ago, the canoe club was derailed in a vehicle collision. “All
of the canoes were wrecked and no one fixed them,” Clark said.

Then, five years ago, Dussie Bailey and her husband, Jim Washington,
stepped in to fix the tribe’s cultural void. Washington reconditioned one
of the canoes and others were purchased. The club was back on the water.

Some of the younger paddlers are familiar with historic racing canoes, in
the same way their peers might know about historic figures in other sports.

One of the most famous canoes was Swinomish’s Lone Eagle, which was raced
for more than 70 years. Another famous canoe was Saanich No. 5, which
Morris said was carved by his great-uncle. “My mother paddled it,” he said.
“If you look at old footage of the canoe races in Coupeville, Saanich No. 5
is in it.”

Morris said his club’s No. 1 Geronimo is about 40 years old.

TURNING ON THE SPOTLIGHT

Paddlers from various teams are helping turn the spotlight onto the sport
of canoe racing.

Lummi’s crew will represent the four-state Northwest region at games in New
Zealand, where they will race outrigger canoes. The crew has raced in
Australia, Fiji, Tahiti and Western Samoa, and in 2002 won gold and silver
medals at the Indigenous Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

Washington hopes to someday field a team for the summer Olympics.

Like other sports, canoe racing has been influenced by technology. Porter,
War Chief Canoe Club skipper, said some paddlers use graphite paddles,
others use bent paddles. Some use strip-plank canoes; some insist on
single-log, hollowed-out canoes. Some wax their canoes down with airplane
wax.

Porter believes the speed of the canoe depends on “the person holding the
paddle.”

Though the War Chief Canoe Club has only been functioning for five years,
it has centuries of tradition upon which to rely. With a dedicated skipper,
supportive parents and the backing of their tribe, it seems probable that
the young paddlers like Cheyenne and Raven will continue this sport into
adulthood.

Someday, another young paddler — someone like Autumn Washington, empowered
by cultural pride — will take the mantle of skipper and the club will
continue. The children will remember the spray of the water and the heat of
the sun on their conditioned bodies when a peer offers them a smoke or a
drink. The strength that comes from being a canoe club member will guide
them to make healthy choices. Their elders will be pulling a paddle
alongside them.

Surely, there is power in that vision — power enough to pull the children
onto the path of health and pride.

Molly Neely-Walker and Richard Walker are correspondents living on San Juan
Island, Wash. Contact them at rmwalker@rockisland.com.