Paddling Together: TRC 2026 and Cortes Island School

Written by Michael Datura, Cortes Island and Surge Narrows Principal

On the morning of October 1, fifteen young paddlers pushed off from Cortes Bay in Klahoose First Nation's large multi-person canoe. When they reached Hollyhock Beach two hours later, more than 120 people were waiting on the shore to welcome them with flowers, drums, and songs. The journey was at the centre of this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation gathering, organized by Cortes Island School in partnership with Klahoose First Nation and Hollyhock, and shared with our friends from Surge Narrows School.

Fifteen Klahoose and guest students from Grade 5-9 made the crossing with a certified skipper and safety boats nearby. At the helm was Tla’amin cultural leader Dion Marriott, who shared several profound stories of the waters and shorelines as they paddled, including the story of I-Hos, the double-headed sea serpent (and the focus of the mural that Kwakwaka’wakw artist Alex Taylor-McCallum painted at the school last year). At one point, as a traditional seal story was being shared, a seal surfaced and stayed close to the canoe and boats to emphasize the teaching. Klahoose youth took the lead, sharing their canoe skills and experience with the new paddlers on board, including two of our teachers, Bonnie Robertson and Taylor Wren. From these young paddlers, everyone learned how to paddle as one and how to respect canoe protocol. This embrace of traditional culture and working together made the crossing a powerful experience and provided a chance to learn from the land and waters directly.

Meanwhile, the rest of Cortes Island School, and our visitors from Surge Narrows, walked to the beach through Hollyhock’s forest and gardens. As the canoe came into view, Brenda Hanson led the singers and drummers in the welcoming it ashore with flowers picked from the Hollyhock garden in hand.

With the canoe pulled up onto the grass beside the fire, Klahoose Elders Norman Harry and Jessie Louie shared teachings and ayʔaǰuθɛm language lessons. Dion told more stories about I-Hos and spoke about his own family’s experience of the residential school system, before leading everyone in traditional songs and dancing. The day closed with lunch from Hollyhock and time together on the beach. The rain kept falling, but it never dampened the day: the paddlers, the welcoming crowds, and the Hollyhock cooks and staff kept the spirit of the gathering strong from start to finish.

A day like this depends, much like carrying a canoe, on many hands. ʔimot to Chief Kevin Peacey for attending; to Klahoose Elders Jessie Louie, Norman Harry, and Mary Harry for sharing their teachings; to Randy Louie and Norman Harry Junior for drumming and tending to the fire; to Brenda Hanson for her songs and music; to support boat skipper Hardy Francis; to Georgina Silby, who arranged the canoe and crew and all the various details; to Tamara McPhail, who joined the team as our medic; to Sachia Kron who brought her own boat to support; to Katia Sol and the team at Hollyhock — Tecuana Cliffton-Woodridge, Richard Hopkinson, Sadie Reed, Holly Mackay, Ayton Novak, Sachia Kron, Orange Cheung, Amaris Daniel, Kristina Purcel, and Breanne Kemp — for hosting us so warmly, and especially the Hollyhock cooks, who prepared not one but two lunches that day; to the Klahoose canoe crew for transporting the canoe; and to our safety boats, and to everyone else who came along and contributed to such a powerful day. And a huge ʔimot to Dion Marriott, who skippered the canoe, brought I-Hos to life, and had all of us singing and dancing.

From the paddlers pulling together as one to the crowd welcoming them ashore in the rain, the spirit of this day is something our students will carry with them for a long time.