Tribal Journey’s BLOG
A Guest blog from Michael Bourquin
Camera and Sound for SAMAQAN
 |
| Michael Bourquin on location in Gulfport MS |
Landings
Raised as a boats’ man in the interior of Northern British
Columbia I was surrounded by lakes and rivers; so I find the ocean to be a
little enigmatic and equally captivating. During the production of Water
Stories season 3 I was fortunate enough to be the locations audio recorder at
Squaxin 2012 during Tribal Journeys.
From up and down the West coast, Oregon, Washington, the coasts
of British Columbia and points as far as Alaska; canoe families made the voyage
to Squaxin to share and celebrate canoe culture. For me the most memorable
experience with Tribal Journey’s would have to be the formality that surrounds
the landings at the various host communities along the way.
When a canoe family paddles to shore, there is a song of
greeting and a representative of that canoe will stand and make a formal
introduction to explain who they are, where they are from and politely ask
permission to come ashore to rest, eat and share in song and dance. Equally
impressive was the welcoming songs of the host nation as they greeted the
travel weary paddlers to shore to rest their bones and join in the feasting and
celebration.
The final landing at Olympia was enormous! There were so many
people. The size and scope of the Journey was much larger than I anticipated. It
was nice to see the city of Olympia participating in the event and that
everyone was welcome to join in the celebration. The spectators were abundant of
all ages and cultural backgrounds.
I believe that there were over 100 canoes at the final landing;
there was even a birch bark canoe from out East and a Maori Waka and crew from
New Zealand. Being there for Squaxin 2012 was such a special treat, hearing the
many songs of the paddlers, to witness and take part in the strong sense of
community was empowering and uplifting. Tribal Journeys is an event I highly
recommend whether spectator or participant especially if you reside on the West
Coast it is a powerful healing experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment