The Canoe Journey - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 138

suggest that the Canoe Journey helps to promote effective water governance both
internally (through increased self-determination, cultural revitalization, and em-
powerment) and externally (through partnerships and creation of allies).
Participating in (and training for) the Journey helps to strengthen community
ties, rebuild networks, reconnect with the water, and expose the youth to positive
life experiences that celebrate traditional cohesion and respect for each other and
themselves. The material connections between the participants and the environment
viscerally connect the participants with the ecosystem.
Second, the roles of partners and allies provide stronger community importance.
This occurs informally through interpersonal relations and formally through
curriculum development and partnerships with agencies such as the USGS.
Cultural revitalization and rebuilding connections
Culturally, the Canoe Journey helps to revitalize traditions. The Journey itself
becomes a floating classroom, where lessons are passed down, on and off the water.
The training for this Journey provides an important arena for the (re)establishment
of governance frameworks, protocols, and lifeways that prepare the participants for
life on and off the water. The connections between teacher and student, elder and
youth, and between people and the environment are strengthened with each Journey.
The idea of unity is a common theme that runs through the Journey. In training,
the paddlers learn that: the strongest canoes are the ones that pull in unison; the
canoe is only as strong as its weakest member; and everyone needs to support and
encourage each member in order to reach their potential. They also learn valuable
lessons about communication and leadership. Under this framework, accountability,
transparency, and support are fundamental pillars to ensure success, collectively.
Following these steps is very important for the success of the canoe team, but it
is also indicative of wider governance frameworks.
The benefits can loosely be categorized as “re/building connections” - connec-
tions between the individual and the environment, tribes and bands, agencies and
allies, teacher and student, elder and youth, and between nations.
Suquamish youth puller, Shaylene Jefferson, who has been participating in the
Journey for 5 years, noted that her favorite parts of the Journey are meeting new
people and being on the water. Shaylene noted, “The best part of the Journey is
sitting in the protocol tent, listening to elders” (Stephenson, 2013). Another
member of the youth canoe team, Jazmine Lawrence, reflected on the power of
the water. “The waves control you,” Jazmine said. The 2013 Canoe Journey took
the paddlers to the outer Pacific coast, which required significantly different
training than in years past. The waters of the outer coast are much less predictable
than the protected inland waters. This new route also influences the protocol of
landing. Unlike in the inner coast, where the travellers seek permission to land
while still in the boat, along the outer coast the canoes land bow first, unload,
then, standing on the beach, the visitors continue the protocol of seeking permission
to join the community. “It's probably how [our ancestors] did it a long time ago,”
Price noted, “you don't want your guests getting hurt”.