By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
This past summer, more than 100 Puyallup Tribal Members made the 115-mile trip to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for the 2025 Canoe Journey Paddle to Elwha.
The Puyallup Tribe’s Heritage Division hosted a Welcome Home Canoe Journey Dinner and Coastal Jam on Sept. 27 at Winners Gym in Tacoma. Youth Program Director Marsha Pluff said the celebration was to honor all of the hard work that went into the week and a half-long event. The Puyallup Tribe welcomed visitors to its ancestral homelands as one of the stops on the journey on July 25.
“There is a lot of patience, a lot of communication that goes into it and there is a lot of healing too,” Pluff said. “It is a special day and we wanted to show appreciation to our crew members, our grounds crew, our cooks, our drivers, youth workers and our Skipper.”
The Heritage Division presented adults with a blanket and youth with a backpack. Puyallup Tribal Member Wyatt Johnson was Skipper for the second consecutive year on the water and was gifted with a paddle by Totus.
“I feel honored and very humbled. It is a big responsibility to be the Skipper of the canoe and helping get us where we needed to go,” Johnson said.
The journey began in the lower Puget Sound and the canoe faced an unexpected obstacle during the journey.
“We made it all the way to Port Townsend before we got pulled out (of the water) because of the tsunami warning. After the tsunami warning ended, everyone was okay to get back in the water and we continued west to finish our journey at Lower Elwha,” he said.
Totus said she was thankful to have Johnson as the Skipper and that he ensured everyone’s safety on the water.
“Going across that half mile, the waters were pretty high and he (Johnson) did an amazing job. Everyone did a really great job,” Totus said. “I was very thankful that everything went smoothly and the canoe got on the water at every stop. I really appreciated seeing our community come together.”
Heritage Division Manager Connie McCloud said Canoe Journey is an important cultural, spiritual, emotional and physical experience for those who participate.
“It is a really big commitment and it is life changing. Our people that have participated in Canoe Journey have really learned a lot. We’re making a difference in our community and we wanted to recognize those who make the commitment,” McCloud said.
