NEAH BAY — Fishermen will be feted at the three-day 91st annual Makah Days celebration which continues today and Sunday.
The theme of the 2015 Makah Days is “Honoring Our Fishermen,” and the grand marshals of the parade this year may rival the number of people watching it.
Every fisherman, from boat captains to deckhands, will serve jointly as the grand marshals, said Crystal Hottowe, vice chairwoman of the Makah Days Committee.
“We have been fishermen since time immemorial. We make our living from the sea,” Hottowe said.
“We are part of the ocean. It is a cornerstone of our culture.”
Grand parade
Fishermen who have been lost at sea will be remembered, she said, adding that nearly every Makah family has been affected.
The hourlong procession of traditional and modern parade entries at today’s grand parade will travel down Bayview Avenue from the Makah Cultural and Research Center, on the east side of Neah Bay, to the Makah Tribal Senior Center beginning at 10 a.m.
Traditional salmon bakes — salmon baked before an open fire between split cedar sticks — will be held today and Sunday near the senior center. Plates are $15.
Visitors also will find traditional dancing, canoe races and a street fair with both traditional and modern goods, along with a grand parade, a talent show and royalty coronation, and fireworks over the bay.
No admission is charged for Makah Days.
Celebrate culture
During the festival, tribal members welcome the public as they celebrate their 4,000 years of culture as well as their U.S. citizenship.
Tribal members who have moved away often return to gather during Makah Days, Claplanhoo said.
The celebration includes guests from neighboring tribes in Washington state and First Nation members from Vancouver Island.
The Makah are closely related to the Nuu-Chah-Nulth of Vancouver Island.
The first U.S. flag raised in Neah Bay was flown Aug. 26, 1913, and the annual festival is always held on the weekend closest to Aug. 26 to mark that date.
Three members of the Makah took part in the original flag raising, and their descendents continue to raise the flag each year, Hottowe said.
The flag raising will take place at 11 a.m. today at the grandstand.
Native Americans didn’t get full citizenship — including the right to vote — until June 2, 1924.
Members of the tribe served with the U.S. military in World War II and in Vietnam, Korea, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Street Fair
Vendors at the street fair on Bayview Avenue, the main street in Neah Bay, will sell traditional and modern items including fry bread, Indian tacos and native arts and crafts beginning at noon today and at 9 a.m. today and Sunday.
There are more vendors this year than last, selling both Native food and Native arts, Claplanhoo said.
Slahal games — gambling games played to the sound of the beating of drums and songs sung loudly to distract opponents — are planned each of the three days, as are canoe races at Front Beach and softball at Neah Bay High School.
New addition
The newest addition to the celebration in 2015 is a carnival — the same carnival that just departed the Clallam County Fair, Claplanhoo said.
The carnival will be open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. today.
Makah children and youths will demonstrate traditional Makah dance at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. today at the platform at Front Beach.
Adult dancers will perform more complicated dances at 6 p.m. at the Neah Bay High gymnasium.
Many of the dances are performed only for Makah Days celebrations and cannot be seen at other Makah events, Claplanhoo said.
“The women do two dances: the Thunderbird and the Songless Dance. They are both powerful dances,” she said.
Sunday events
All comers can test their endurance in the 3-mile Bahokus Peak Challenge at 10 a.m. Sunday.
The fun run/walk has a mostly uphill route — an elevation gain of about 1,400 feet.
Entry is $10 for youths 17 and younger and $20 for adults.
Registration is at the base of Bahokus Peak Road.
Natural attractions
The Makah Reservation, which is at the western end of state Highway 112, covers 44 square miles and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Hiking, kayaking and watching birds and other wildlife are special treats.
The three best-known trails are to Cape Flattery — where one can stand on the most northwestern point of the contiguous United States and view sea stacks and the Pacific Ocean — Shi Shi Beach and the trail from Lake Ozette to the Pacific Ocean.
A $10 use permit is required for such activities as hiking, camping, fishing or visiting Cape Flattery, Shi Shi or other trails and beaches.
Permits can be purchased at any marked location in Neah Bay.
The Makah Museum at the Makah Cultural and Research Center at 1880 Bayview Ave. exhibits 300- to 500-year-old artifacts recovered from the archaeological site at Ozette, a Makah village in which a mudslide covered and preserved several homes around the year 1750.
The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is $5 for adults; $4 for students, seniors and military in uniform; and free for children 5 and younger.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
