Many Traditions with Canoes
There are many things that canoes can do to bring spirit into any day.
More stories from Nicole Peterson
A canoe from the Puyallup Tribe is paddled toward a landing during an annual journey Wednesday, July 27, 2016, in Seattle. Dozens of tribal canoes were arriving at Alki Beach in Seattle as part of an annual Native American celebration. Members of the Muckleshoot Tribe greeted the boats Wednesday afternoon as part of the 2016 Paddle to Nisqually.
Traditions can be recent or ages old, and canoes are no different. Canoes have been used for a long time for transportation, but now they are mostly used for having fun. Recreational races can be small or long. On the Des Plaines River in May, there is a race that is 18.5 miles long. This is called the Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon. Over 500 people come together to race.
National Canoe Day is June 26th. Different outfitters do different programs for that day; some outfitters include Boundary Waters, Outdoor Industry Association and Lock n’ Paddle.
To get away from the shore to fish, watch a sunset, swim, relax or hang out with friends, canoeing is a great thing to do. Antioch Community High School has an Adventure Education class that canoes for a few weeks out of the year. The students also use the canoes for fishing. With the fishing, they paddle out on the lake to a more quiet location away from other people so they can catch the fish.
“You can be on the open water and just listen to the peace and quiet,” senior Robert Hence said.