78 canoes arrive in Swinomish for tribes' celebration

Seventy-eight canoes arrived in Swinomish on Monday to take part in the 2011 Salish Sea Canoe Journey celebration. Among them was a group from the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, who paddled for three days to get there. The event got its start in 1989, the year of Washington's state centennial, when tribes in the region traveled to Seattle to revive a tradition of gathering to celebrate their connection to salmon, water and each other. The journey later became an annual event, and tribes take turns hosting. Activities continue through Sunday on Fidalgo Island across the channel from La Conner. For more information, go to paddletoswinomish.com.