Swinomish ceremony protects fishermen, honors water
By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community news
Hundreds of people filled the rows of tables at the Swinomish Boys & Girls Club gymnasium on May 14, to enjoy a seafood feast and pray for the safety of those who venture into the water to feed their families and neighbors.
The Blessing of the Fleet & First Salmon Ceremony is an old tradition that was brought back to the Swinomish Tribe by Lorraine Loomis and Joe McCoy over four decades ago, in defiance of a long history of colonial oppression of tribal practices.
The guests included community members from the Swinomish Tribe, La Conner and other neighboring communities, as well as representatives of state and federal environmental agencies, and even representatives from the City of Seattle and Seattle City Light — who recently pledged to invest over $1 billion in salmon habitat restoration to mitigate the harm caused by the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.
“This is an opportunity for us to share our traditions with everyone,” Swinomish Chairman Steve Edwards said in his speech. “This is what we do to protect our fishermen, to make sure they come home safely.”
The Swinomish people have relied on the water for sustenance since time immemorial. At the same time, some of those who set sail never returned home. Among them was Aurelia Bailey’s uncle, who drowned in Penn Cove while crabbing in 2012, she told La Conner Community News.
Bailey, who is a member of the Swinomish Tribal Senate and works as the Tribe’s cultural events director, said she hopes families don’t have to go through the same pain as hers did.
Safety on the water was at the heart of the event, with speakers stressing the importance of exercising caution on every water expedition. Since distractions and mistakes happen, the Blessing of the Fleet is an opportunity to “fill up on prayer,” said Pastor Doug York from Inspire Church.
Aside from taking care of the community, the annual celebration also demonstrates other core values that are shared across various religious dominations in the Swinomish community, such as protecting the environment, resources and the Tribe’s treaty rights, Bailey said.
Following the meal, which also featured the Swinomish Canoe Family’s singing, many joined a procession on Reservation Road, with the Edwards family leading attendees to the edge of the channel at Moorage Way.
There, the crowd asked for mercy, protection and guidance, with four men — including La Conner Community News reporter Bill Reynolds — called to serve as witnesses and share what was in their hearts and on their minds.
Standing by the water, the crowd listened to ancient prayers and asked Saint Kateri Tekakwitha — the first Indigenous Catholic saint in North America — to bless the fishermen.
Four youths brought heavy trays of king salmon dressed in berries, skunk cabbage, ferns, cedar and shellfish, with each contribution destined for the waters of the Skagit Bay to the south, the Skagit River to the east, Fidalgo Bay to the north and the Salish Sea to the west, per tradition.
“Everything that we need to be native people, to survive in the way our ancestors did is included in that offering,” Bailey said. “Everything we do has a meaning.”
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for la Conner Community News.
