I carried you all with me this weekend!!!!!

Some of you ( ok~ MOST of you) know that I am happily married to a Native American~ an amazing man in his own right, and on top of that, a Tribal elder, a spiritual man, and one so involved in the renewal and preservation of his culture. I am honored daily to be in his company, and the company of his tribe.
His Tribe, the Chumash of Coastal California was for generations, a sea-faring Tribe, and their island home was 22 miles from the mainland on what was called Limuw. It is now part of the Channel Islands National Parks, but is revered by the Tribe, and most recently by the Parks service as well. The early Chumash were known to make plank canoes from redwood, held together by the natural pitch and pine tar in the area, and they men fished and traded to sustain life for them and their families.
In 2001, the Tribe built a new plank canoe (Tomol in the Chumash language) and for the first time in over 150 years, Native men from the Tribe traversed the waters to the Island that their ancestors called home over 10,000 years previously! This journey has now been made every September since...and I have been honored to welcome the paddlers to the Island. It is by no means a re-enactment of past events in the life of the Tribe, rather, it is a ceremonial homecoming each year. Between Thursday and Saturday AM about 200 family members and friends take a Park Service boat to the Island and set up camp. I went on Thursday, set up my tent, and re-connectcted with many of my friends from the Chumash Nation I only see once a year. Many come from hundreds of miles for this emotional, spiritual homecoming and reunion. It is beyond description...

The waters on he way to the island are generally filled with of thousands(!!!!) of dolphins surfing in the swell of the boat and mosre importantly, swimming alongside and underneath the Tomol as it crosses the ocean. The paddlers leave the harbor at 3AM, and take turns, 4 at a time, paddling for 10 hours until they reach the shore. The dolphins are their constant companions, and play a big part in the lore of the Tribe...they have a survival story of being related to the dolphins, so they feel it is a good omen.

On Thursday morning, there were almost NO dolphins in the waters. Suddenly, the captain of the boat turned and showed us why...there was a family of Killer Whales in the ocean, swimming alongside us! A HUGE papa whale, as big and majestic as Shamu, 2 females, and a baby jumped in and out of the waves for over 20 minutes !!! I have never seen an orca up close and personal in the wild~ to say I was astonished would be an understatement. What a blessing to see such magnificent creatures in their home territory!

On Saturday morning, after a long paddle ( the men paddle on their knees and just paddle and paddle...the canoe is 22' long and the paddles are 11' in length) we welcomed them ashore with Native songs. Later that evening there was a wedding held at the camp~ one of the Chumash women is a judge in Los Angeles, and performed the ceremony with all of us in attendance! Later that night, Reggie and the group he sings with performed for the couple and the Tribal members..so beautiful.

On Sunday morning, at 6AM, I walked the 1/4 mile to the beach for the sunrise service. I was part of a circle, and as each person enters the circle, they are first cleansed with burning sage, and given a pinch of tobacco to ofer into the firepit or into the ocean. Counter-Clockwise, each steps forward to the firepit and offers a thanks or a prayer or a song. The prayers or thanks can be given silently...nothing is expected of anyone. I was 4th in the circle. The 30th person startled and shocked me. Her husband is a paddler with mine and she announced to the group that she wanted to acknowledge her inspriation...ME! (whaaaat???) She said that I was fighting a battle and handling it with grace, dignity and beauty~ and that she aspired to live her life the way I live mine. Now, I know I can write, but in person, I am a quiet, non assuming person. To be singled out was almost overwhelming! Especially at 6 in the morning! She left the circle, came over to me and asked if she had my permission to hug me. Well yeah~ by then I was a melted pile of weepy emotions!

We had breakfast with our extended family, tore down our campsite, and headed to the dock to catch the Park Service boat back to the mainland. The Tomol will be towed back next week.

I know I haven't done the weekend justice. But by being away I missed welcoming new ones to the BC family, missed congratulating birthday celebrants, good dr visits, and a host of other things happening here on the boards!

I am still tired ( imagine that!) but getting back into the swing of things.

I love you all...
Hugs,
Chen♥