Fading away

CANADA | Monday, 24 November 2014 | Views [218] | View Smaller Image

During the Whey-ah-Wichen Canoe Festival, kids 10 or younger have the opportunity to compete against each other to earn cash prices. Getting them involved early in the races serves a big purpose: to ensure that they stay away from drugs and alcohol, as addiction is a serious problem Canadian First Nations face. “Substance abuse is an issue in our community and one way to combat that is to have the kids involved in other healthy activities and cultural teaching in a way that they can be involved in the culture,” Angela explains. “It’s gaining personal identity and believing in themselves enough so they’re able to say no.”

One of the key elements in the Nation’s plan to bring canoe racing back is the Whey-ah-Wichen Canoe Festival, a two-day competition in which Aboriginal people from all along the West Coast of North America compete in canoe races. The festival is held in Tsleil-Waututh land. “I think [the festival] is really important because we’re reviving something that this community did years ago in hosting other communities to come here and to compete in healthy traveling and healthy racing together,” explains Angela George, the woman leading the efforts to reestablish canoe racing.

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Angela believes there’s no future without traditions. Only by honouring the teachings of their ancestors, the Nation will be able to ensure the wellbeing of their youngest ones. “Every time my paddle touches the water and goes down in for each stroke, it’s like connecting to the past,” she says. “When I bring it back out of the water and reach forward, to me it’s like a prayer. It’s a belief that I’m bringing the past forward into the future and making the connection between our ancestors and my children, all of the children of this community.”

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