timetables.

Tribes meet June 27 in Heiltsuk village of Bella Bella

SOME TIME during the daylight
hours of Tuesday, June 7, an
event no living eyes have witness-
ed will take place in the waters off
Ambleside Beach in’ West Van-
couver.

By Paul Hughes
Contributing Writer

There, from land belonging to
the Squamish Nation, native tribes
from the southern coast of B.C.
and Washington state will iaunch
their ocean-going canoes into the
sea to begin. the first leg of a
350-mile (563 km) journey to the
Heiltsuk village of Bella Bella.

They will paddle northward, in
the manner of their ancestors,
averaging an estimated 25 miles
(40 km) a day and on June 27 will
begin a celebration known as the
Qatuwas Festival — “a people
gathering together in one place.’’

At Bella Bella, the people of the
Southern tribes. and Washington
state will join those tribes making
similar journeys from the north

_coast, and, possibly, aboriginal
groups’ from: other Pacific Rim

countries as well.
‘“In this, the year the United Na-
tions has:declared to be the ‘‘In-
tern national year of the Indigenous
Peopleé,’’'the ‘Qatuwas Festival is
being :: icralded’ as a {stroke
towards Indigenous Unity.”’

For many of the paddlers it will
‘be a chatice to, reconnect to an
almost: forgotten cultural heritage
layered. deep in the centuries of
our coastal history.”

The. North’ Shere News has
been invited to record the progress
of the Squamish Nation paddlers
as they prepare themselves mental-
ly, spiritually and physically for

‘the’ demands: of. this _ historic
journey... ‘

This is the fit irst entry in ‘the
; Qatuwas Diary.

- BOB: BAKER, the project coor-
-dinator’ of .what has become
known’ as. the Squamish . Nation
Sea Going Society—- the name
chesen ‘for the Squamish end of
“the Qatuwas project’: — paces the
floor of his living room. He scems
. nervous, anxious, as if wondering
what to do next.
His kitchen table is littered with.
the detritus of his dreams:
Qatuwas ‘T-shirts being offered
_for sale (“I know you'll buy one,
Paul. Twenty bucks. Good
cause.’’), Qatuwas. . fundraising
proposals; Qatuwas festival

As i hand over the $20, I
,wonder how a man almost as

NATIVE AFFAIRS

steeped in the ‘thang-loose*’
culture of Hawaii, where he lived
fur 14 years, as he is in his own
Squamish Indian heritage, has got
to such an uncharacteristic state.

Baker summarizes his feelings
about Qatuwas history this way:
“This is one of the biggest pro-
jects I’ve ever been involved in,
This voyage will be a milestone in
my life.”

No stranger to canoes, Baker
has been involved both locally, in
the annual war-canoe racing
season, and in Hawaii, where he
took an active part in the mara-
thon canoe events through the
Kahana Canoe Club.

But for Baker the love of
canoes and the sea goes beyond
mere interest. It is interwoven into
the personality and the cultural
makeup of the man himself.

He speaks fondly of a time
when the oceans and rivers of this
coast were the ‘highways’? of his
people, a source of transportation,
and, more than that, the source of
life itself,

Qatuwas, he believes, wili help
to rekindle that fading aspect of
the Squamish tradition.

“Qatuwas,’* he said, ‘‘is a nec-
essary task for us to establish the
canoe as a focus for our cultural
vision.” ”

For now, though, the focus is
on the training of the paddlers,
and, of course, raising the neces-
sary funds for the trip.

Baker estimates the final cost of —

the voyage will be around
$40,000. This will cover the ex-
penses for a team of 20 paddlers,
a first-aid person, cook, an escort
boat and captain, food and other
necessary safety provisions:

They are desperately in need of
a trailer to haul the 45-foot (14
m) canoe to the traditional
Squamish territories in Howe
Sound where the paddlers will
train. They need donations, not
only of money, but food, safety
equipment such as lifejackers, and
other supplies.

The society is appealing both to
the public and to corporate spon-
sors for help. Although the
Squamish Nation provided the
funds for building the canoe —

carved by Squamish master-carver_

Cedric Billy — at a cost of
$35,000 — the Squamish Nation
Sea Going Society is so far
operating independently.

“There is no politics invotved,’’
said Baker. “We are a grassroots
society.’

HOWE ANY PLANE THIS
OER.” WE fo.»

Sulony Ain Bee fets7 Be Pub ee

Hanlony le lent Exloy THE Saunlps oF
“suzVERLODE

weplespay 15 SEE. 5 WG 1 T with A

Fopk COuRRE Cranes coley Ft

Np IS

THUR OMY, FRIONY, SATOR DAY NIGHTS OUR HBwusT

SATURDAY AND
YouR FAV OKUITE

SUNS BAY FBR UNCH ~ EWOBE
Lies Benny ah 9s

a MARING DRIVE
WesTr Vanco, ‘2b -G893 3

ARE YOU CONSIDERING A
CAREER IN REAL ESTATE?

FREE NORTH SHORE REAL ESTATE CAREER SEMINAR
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1983, 7:00 BM.
TO PRE-REGISTER, PLEASE CALL 687-5154

ROYAL LePAGE
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

40 OFFICES IN BC. 370 OFFICES IN CANADA

The socisty can. be reached by
mail at 443 West Third St., North
Vancouver, B.C., V7M 1G9.

Address fax calls to 980-3861,
or call the Squamish Band Office
directly at 985-7711 to express
your interest in assisting with the
Qatuwas Festival.

March 20 93, 10am-4pm

Super Save Glass & Car Care
1ST PRIZE: Autographed limited edition

portrait of the 1967 Stanley Cup

Champions “tie Toronto faple

Leafs.”
Donated by Car-Am. $700 value.

b 2ND PRIZE: $100 of Super Save Gas coupons.
: 2nd draw April 30/93 .

CAR WASH LOCATION

Park & Titford 1.C.8.C. Ciaims

Centre
5th Street

8
SUPER C] a
SAVE GAS i

Main Street

eS ju oot oe,

¢

Say

%* SUPPLIERS 3
LUMBERLAND
NORTH SHORE PARTS
SAVE-ON-FOODS

Limit one coupon per fill-u
Not to be wid in conjunction s with

eee ee ee ne ee ee

Two years ago my Jeep was parked downtown when vandals smashed

the windshield and side window. i took my vehicie to a Glass Shop that

advertised fast service. Two months later, ] was still picking glass chips

out of door pockets. floor carpets and rear seat. | then decided to open
f a chain of auto glass shops which wouid care about the second biggest

investment many of us make. We pay attention to the service we bring
| to our custorners and community. This is our commitment to you

AT SUPER SAVE GLASS... WE ARE CAREFUL

Sportraits ...

Moments in Time

authentically autographed photos
and limited edition prints of sports
* stars professionally framed and

Cormelia
= Krahn

Si