Tribal Canoe Journeys 2025 Recap

This Tao Tatala is the first to be utilized on the water in America.

Another year is in the books for the Pacific Northwest Tribal Canoe Journey. "Our Journey VI/Elders Bless Tatala" was a major success. Our goals this year were to outfit our Tatala, do any repairs needed, give a blessing to honor our boat. We were then going to display it along the way. Things turned out a bit different. Once the blessing was completed on July 19th, our delegation made up of eight members from Lanyu and a member of the Paiwan tribe, eagerly started doing the repair work and informed me if all goes right, they will be able to utilize it during the journey. Hearing this gave us a lot of motivation. We were actually going to pull with the big canoes. 

Here is the story of Our Journey VI as told by ATAYAL Director Gary Smoke...

Delegation in Taiwan.

After receiving our list of travelers from Tao Foundation COO Kai Limadjakan, we scheduled our first pre-arrival meeting and provided an overview of the event. Kate Chang, our organization's chief interpreter, assisted. Kate was instrumental with her interpreting and organizing skills. She was able to find a great AirBnB in Tacoma where our delegation stayed for the first four nights. Our second pre-arrival meeting gave our delegation more specifics about what to expect during the Tribal Canoe Journey. After our second meeting, we felt we were ready to go. Kate and I departed on July 14th in order to make all the necessary preparations for our visitors.

The delegation arrives at the SeaTac International Airport.

Our delegation arrived in Seattle on July 18th, and we met them at the airport. It was an exciting time, and we waited with great anticipation. After their arrival, we shot a few photos and loaded their baggage into our truck. Everyone then jumped on a shuttle bus to the car rental facility. We then were off to Tacoma and our home away from home. Our delegation was very happy and impressed by the living arrangements.

The delegation is joined by local supporters at the Tatala blessing ceremony.

We had a very busy schedule prior to departing on the Tribal Canoe Journey. On Saturday, July 19th the day after our delegation arrived, we held our blessing ceremony at the Nisqually Tribal Cultural Center (Photo Gallery). Our canoe family prepared an excellent lunch for our guests. Those attending included a representative from Taiwan's Cultural Office located in Bellevue, Washington. Also attending was a group of supporters from the Seattle/Tacoma area, friends, members of our canoe family and other tribal members. We were invited to lunch and a visit to Taiwan's Cultural Center by the head of the cultural center. 

The delegation visits the county fair in Enumclaw, WA.

On Sunday July 20th, we made our annual return to the town where I was born, Enumclaw, Washington. This year we were able to attend a local event being held there. The King County Fair is one of the oldest county fairs in Washington State. During our journey, we provided opportunities for our delegation to participate in some American activities. The county fair is a great example of American culture.

The tatala receives repairs to make it seaworthy.

On Monday July 21st, we returned to the cultural center of our canoe family and did some work on our Tatala. It was nothing short of a miracle that we had the people there and the equipment to put the vessel back together and make it ready to use on the water.

The delegation hosts a barbecue dinner in their AirBnB.

That evening was our last night at the rental house. We decided we would have a barbecue which was excellent by the way and also a great way to say goodbye to the luxuries of having a fixed roof over our heads. Our delegation relocated and set up camp at the Nisqually Cultural Center the next morning.

The delegation visits the Taiwanese Cultural Center in Bellevue, WA.

The 22nd of July was a very busy day. We started off by driving up to Bellevue to the Cultural Center for the Taiwan's Economic and Cultural Office (TECO). Our meeting was very informative and we look forward to cooperating with their office in the future. After the meeting, we were treated to lunch at a nearby restaurant. We then crossed one of the floating bridges over Lake Washington and proceeded to Seattle.

The delegation visits the Burke Museum.

Every year we visit the Burke Museum and are given a special tour by Holly Barker. Once again, we had the opportunity to not only see the Tatala that's on display there but also visit the clean room for a tour and have a look at other objects from Taiwan. Visiting the Burke is always a highlight of our journey and we hope to continue and build on our relationship with the museum (Photo Gallery).

The delegation had an important meeting in the Washington State Capitol building.

The following day was also very busy. First, we headed to the Washington State Capitol for a meeting that was arranged by the Office of Native Education (ONE) (Photo Gallery). To our amazement, we had the opportunity to meet in the governor's conference room which added to the gravity of the moment. We had a very good exchange with representatives from this office and from The Office of the Governor.

The delegation and supporters enjoy an American cultural pastime, a professional baseball game.

That same evening, it was off to another American cultural event, BASEBALL (Photo Gallery). We attended the Tacoma Rainers game and treated over our delegation and guests to a night of baseball. Our group of over 25 included not only our delegation but members from local Native American tribes, our canoe family, the O.N.E. and I bought additional tickets for my son and his family.  Everyone received a hat and a hot dog as part of our package. We had a wonderful time and ironically, it was the only time Kate and I were able to see my granddaughters.

The Tao tatala has its successful test in the water.

The following day was a very special day. On July 24th we were able to launch our Tatala and test it. Everyone was excited and we were delighted to see this history-making launch. This day marked the first time the Tatala was on the water in probably over 35 years. It was also, to my knowledge, the first time a Tatala was on the waters in America. 

Michael Jacobson shares his cultural artifacts with the delegation.

July 25th was another busy day. We moved camp to the Puyallup tribe. That afternoon, we were headed back to Seattle to go to Pike Place Market and also visit our friend Michael Jacobson and his wife at their house in North Seattle (Photo Gallery). The delegation members were very touched when Michael Jacobsen shared his private collection of indigenous Taiwanese artifacts, which included may items from the Tao and Paiwan Tribes (Photo Gallery of the Private Collection).

The next day, we joined the Tribal Canoe Journey with our Tatala and pulled from Puyallup to the Muckleshoot tribal territory (Photo Gallery). This was the moment I had been envisioning for many years. So, joining for me was a dream come true. We enjoyed a fabulous smoked BBQ that evening. 

On the morning of the July 27th was our longest leg in the journey. We traveled from Federal Way, Washington all the way to Suquamish tribal lands which was about a 2-hour drive. They served a fabulous dinner and we visited the Suquamish Museum. The next day, two of our delegation returned to Seattle and returned to Taiwan early.

The Final Protocol, Paddle to Lower Elwha.

For the next couple of days, we made stops at Port Gamble and camping at Port Townsend. Our canoe family then decided to move camp to Lower Elwha (Photo Gallery). We arrived on July 30 and set up camp.  The following day RC took our delegation up to Hurricane Ridge (Photo Gallery). That evening, I was honored for my birthday with the Native American birthday song. It was very moving. We had hoped to put our Tatala in the water and welcome our canoe family, but bad seas prevented us and our canoe family came ashore in Port Angeles. There was also an earthquake in Russia’s east coast that caused some to depart early for fear of a tsunami. We persevered and made camp.

Our opportunity to address the other tribes was a great honor (Photo Gallery). I introduced our delegation, Hanford McCloud, the head of our canoe family, talked of our relationship which began in 2016, Kate translated the speeches by our group and Kai sang a Paiwan song. It was very moving.

We headed back to Seattle on August 3, stopping on the way to drop our Tatala back at the Nisqually Cultural Center. Finally, we returned the rental van and dropped off our delegation at the airport. Kai stayed one more evening with RC. 

"Our Journey VI / Elders Bless Tatala" was our most significant and successful Journey to date. It far surpassed our expectations. We brought all of the pieces together (outfitted, repaired, blessed and joined) and made history by putting our Tatala on the water in America. Additionally, we provided an opportunity for our supporters in the Pacific Northwest and our canoe family to see and hear stories from the people who make daily use of the Tatala. We also look forward to the next steps which will be the development of our traveling museum and "Our Journey VII." Our focus will be back to our youth and hope to include other members of the Austronesian family next year as well.

We owe a special thanks to our partners in Taiwan, Kai Limadjakan and Chou Chia-hui, for making the delegation trip possible.