The Blessing of a Longhouse in Garden Bay

I was anchored in Garden Bay as I often am during the summer. It's a good place to provision and I have friends I like to visit there. I could hear some construction sounds coming from the bush so I took my skiff ashore and walked up the trail.

There it was, a little long house under construction. I chatted with the guys who were building it and they said they had to get it finished because the blessing was scheduled for two days and they had a lot of work to do. They invited me to come back for the celebration.

I delayed my departure in order to take in the event. There was quite a good turnout. Singing, dancing and speeches from band councillors, elders and local politicians who were totally supportive of the endeavour. It goes without saying there was an abundance of food and plenty of laughter. Having grown up, fished and traveled with First Nations friends I have a special appreciation for their outlook on life. Never let anything get in the way of a good laugh.

Now this was totally unexpected, just one of those things you fluke into. I actually knew Chief Craigan from another trip I made through the Sechelt territory using my boat to escort the Squamish ocean going canoe on one of their Tribal Journeys. It was nice to reacquaint with him and some of the other elders and spend the afternoon in their company. They have a way of making everyone feel welcome. When it was all done we parted ways. Until the next time.

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