Pulling together for healing
Leelind and Shanaa of the Sumas First Nation, Kamari of the Seabird Island First Nation, and Miko love canoe racing and are competing at races and competitions across First Nations in the Pacific Northwest this summer. Together, with their grandmother Lenny, who is a Sumas First Nation member and United Way BC Hi Neighbour Community Builder, they have attended the Whey-ah-Wichen Canoe Festival at Whey-ah-Wichen village site of səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) in North Vancouver and Sasquatch Days, co-hosted by the Village of Harrison Hot Springs and the Sts’ailes First Nation, at Harrison Lake. Lenny has been with them all the way, proudly cheering them and all the racers on.
Leelind, Shanaa, Kamari and Miko are part of the Vikki Lynn Canoe Club which is one of several canoe clubs in the Stó:lō area (Fraser Valley) including Sumas Warriors Canoe Club, River Spirit Canoe Club, Lady Jane Canoe Club, and Pil’alt Warriors Canoe Society supported by grants from United Way BC and The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation (Washington Foundation).
United Way BC and the Washington Foundation have worked in partnership with and following the lead of the Sumas Nation in the aftermath of the November 2021 floods in the Fraser Valley as part of our ongoing Reconciliation and Emergency Response efforts. As a Community Builder, Lenny has supported this journey, connecting with the community with a focus on building relationships across generations.
Youth and traditions
Canoe clubs hold deep cultural, educational, and emotional significance as they help youth reclaim traditions that were suppressed through colonization and residential schools, including First Nations communities’ connections to land, water, and community.
“There is so much more to canoe racing than just competing with other clubs,” Lenny says. “These families start training as soon as they can. March is ideal. [It’s] not unusual they are training in rain, hail and sometimes even snow. The first couple months are Monday to Friday, then mid-May they go from race to race until mid-August.”
Every year, canoe races are held across the Mainland, Vancouver Island and Washington State and gather in First Nations communities and clubs from around the region to compete in a variety of races celebrating culture, inspiring generations, and thrilling hundreds of spectators.
A way of life
“The canoe families train together, share meals together, travel as much as they can together. They move as one, on and off the canoe. They build a strong heart, mind and spirit,” Lenny says.
“They have been doing this for as long as five generations to my knowledge. Babies are months old [their] first time on a canoe. The races are increasing in size every season [with] pullers racing seriously at a younger age.”
Many canoe clubs are closely tied to a First Nation or are made up of members from nearby First Nations. There is no age limit for competitors with races often grouped in age category heats. People watching a race from the beach cheer on their favourite club by calling out the name of the canoe they have in that race. They also cheer for the canoes that are coming in last, encouraging them to keep going!
“There is so much to be said about this way of life, I myself do not go on a canoe, [but] we all have a role to make it happen. I’m like a canoe Mom, Grandma, Auntie in this life. I’m grateful for this life. Keeping this tradition, teachings, [and] way of life is going to keep our families flourishing together through life’s challenges,” Lenny says.
UNITED for Reconciliation
Between 2023 and 2025, the Washington Foundation contributed $500,000 to the Community Champions Initiative, which was a partnership between United Way BC, Sumas First Nation, and Sqwá (Skwah) First Nation. This initiative fostered collaboration between settler organizations and First Nations communities by nurturing and supporting emerging community leaders and embedding the cultures and teachings of Sumas and Sqwá First Nations into United Way BC School’s Out Summer and Future Leaders programs for local children and youth.
The foundation’s gift also supported canoe clubs for youth in Sumas and Sqwá First Nations, from which several groups and individuals competed in the Whey-ah-Whichen Canoe Festival.
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