Seattle celebrated the sesquicentennial of its 1852 founding in 2002. On August 31, the commemoration ended with The Spirit Returns, a group of 15 tribal canoes from Washington and British Columbia that paddled along West Seattle starting at Seacrest Boathouse. Their destination, Terminal 107 Park, was the location of Chief Seattle’s childhood home and the proposed site of the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center. Here, they were welcomed by the head of the Duwamish people.

Mike Evans (Snohomish), a Kent Fire Department lieutenant, organized a Redondo practice paddle at Redondo Beach during the week before the official event. Wearing a traditional woven cedar bark hat, he smiles as he tells the story of a recent 170-mile paddle in very rough weather.

Caption information source: “Duwamish share lessons of the water: Canoe paddle a tribute to harmony with white settlers”, by D. Parvaz, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 29, 2002, pages B1, B8.
Caption information source: “Corrections/Clarifications”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 30, 2002, page 2. The correction notes that the names of the two men in the images had been reversed in the original publication. This caption follows the corrections.