Hōkūleʻa and her crew have arrived in Alert Bay, British Columbia after crossing the open ocean between mainland B.C. and Vancouver Island.
The crew encountered some rainy weather along the way and arrived soaking wet to the oldest community on Vancouver Island.
Hōkūleʻa crew member Lucy Lee said the rainy weather did not prevent the Kwakwaka’wakw people from greeting the double-hulled canoe upon its arrival at Alert Bay.
She said there was a beautiful welcoming ceremony with dancing and oratory performances.
"The crew came up onto the beach and we did a couple oli and had a small exchange there. So, we’re really excited to be here in Alert Bay," Lee said.
When the crew sat down for dinner with tribal leaders of the Namgis First Nation, they heard stories of the community’s struggles and triumphs against commercial salmon fishing.
"They had something like five or six different types of salmon regularly available and now there's only two. And so they were telling us about how they have taken to the legal systems where they are suing these companies... or showing up outside of these businesses, just stuff like that... that I think a lot of Indigenous people around the world can relate to," Lee said.
Alert Bay was once a thriving fishing village, and Lee said many of the community members they’ve met have shared stories of their own canoe journeys.
"These canoe journeys could be up to 30 or 40 days, they’re paddling, they’re packing their own food, they’re getting out every couple of nights and camping... Being at the mercy of nature, and really having to fine tune the attention that you’re paying to what’s around you," she said.
"That really could be the difference between you making it home or you making it to your final destination and potentially you not."
This connection helped Lee reflect upon her own journey along this leg of the Moananuiakea Voyage, which comes to an end in Vancouver as soon as this coming weekend.
Stay tuned for HPR's coverage of Hōkūleʻa as reporters interview crew members and track their progress through the Pacific:
