Salmon Are Sacred

Migration of the Wild Salmon
On Friday, May 7th, 2010, I paddled in a canoe with 9 other people from the docks of steveston to the harbor in Sydney, Victoria. The group I joined had been paddling for 10 days down from Hope on a journey to meet up with Alexandra Morton on her walk down the coast of the island to raise awareness for wild salmon and how much they needed our help. The people who had been canoeing arrived in Steveston for a rally on Thursday May 6th, and after their ride didn't show up, my dad, a retired fisherman, invited them to camp in our backyard. I brought pizza and cake over since it was their youngest paddlers' 13th birthday. On friday morning I went to wish them luck and just before they pushed off the dock (already 2 hours late) they invited me to join them for the day! How could I refuse?!? When would I ever get an opportunity like that again?! So i threw an extra life jacket on and jumped in, wearing nothing other than ripped jeans, van slip on's, a white cotton shirt, and my jacket. It took us four hours to make it to active pass, and we stopped to pee on Galiano Island. We got back in and paddled for another two hours, watching sea lions, harbor seals, and otters. After a while the fishing boat that was escorting us suggested that we get in the boat for a bit because the tide was turning and we were going to miss the rally waiting for us at the doc if we tried to paddle the entire way. A huge argument broke out on the boat because some people felt very strongly about not finishing the entire paddle, especially Darryl, the guy sitting next to me. We ended up getting on the boat, and I am glad we did, because we finally got a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful sights going by. Darryl and I sat for over an hour talking, and eventually I convinced him that he needed to get back in the canoe and finish the journey, specially since I was the trade off because it was my dads fault we were late in the first place. He agreed that my excellent paddling skills and insightful conversation had been worth it so we all got back into the canoe and finished our journey with a little group of killer whales! We arrived in Sydney and waiting at the dock was Alexandra Morton! The lady who had started it all, as well as a few First Native Chiefs and some media crew! We had a large traditional welcome as well as interview after interview. Not going into detail, the night did not end up going to great, and I got extremely sick from the sun and then the cold, but every second was worth it! It was one of the most exciting adventures of my life so far.