canoe trip
The leadership canoe journey is an 8 day trip from
Swan Bay to Tanu in Gwaii Haanas National Park
Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. Participants include
three staff members, two invited guests or Elders, and
eleven youth aged sixteen or older. The journey takes
place on the Looplex (the 50 ft fibreglass mold of the
LooTaas) and the route has been designed with
achievable daily targets to ensure its success.
Stops include the Huxley Island Warden Station,
Burnaby Narrows, Hot Springs, Windy Bay and Tanu,
as well as other points along the way. Participants are
flown by chartered seaplane to the Swan Bay basecamp
and then flown home from Tanu. This journey focuses
on reconnecting with the environment and with old traditions
centred on the canoe: cooking in bentwood boxes, fishing
with old technology such as halibut hooks, and harvesting
from the sea.
The Leadership Canoe Journey will bring its participants
back out onto the land and sea, reconnecting youth with
ancestral traditions. The journey will impact each participant
physically, mentally and spiritually; changing lives forever.
Swan Bay Rediscovery Program focuses on creating
experiential outdoor experiences for youth that are rooted
in Haida tradition. Cultural values and traditions play an
integral role.
Participants on the Leadership Canoe Journey will learn
new skills centered around the canoe, canoe culture and
traditional Haida activities.
One of the main goals of this journey is to reintroduce
canoeing to Haida youth with the hope that canoes will
again become important in everyday life. This will have
a positive impact on the physical, mental and spiritual
health of the whole community.