NEAH BAY — An old, borrowed tradition is making its way to the younger members of the Makah tribe, who are excelling at racing war canoes.
This weekend’s war canoe races at the Makah Days Celebration was the final race meet of the year and finished off an outstanding year for the Makah’s 13-and-younger, “Little Bucks” crew, said Dale Johnson, skipper of the Makah mens’ war canoe crew and coach of the youth crews.
Many of the Makah Little Bucks also fill in empty seats in the tribe’s smaller 16-and-younger “Big Bucks” crew, along with three older members, Johnson said.
Even with a large number of Little Bucks crewing with the Big Bucks for 16-and-under races, the young Makah crew has placed in several races this year, he said.
The youngsters’ success and continued interest in war canoe racing gives Johnson hope that the sport, which has been declining over the past few decades, may still have a future, he said.
Johnson said the Makah’s greatest strength historically has been the women’s crew, but in the past year the women, who are mostly in their 30s and 40s, were not able to maintain a full team because of other obligations.
“It’s hard to get people really interested,” he said.
Training takes long, hard hours of physical workouts, and daily practice in the canoes, and Johnson said that other elements of life routinely draw possible crew members away from the grueling training schedule.
War canoe racing dates back to as long as 120 years ago, when tribes on the inland waterways of the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound areas
The Makah didn’t traditionally use war canoes, which are much narrower and less stable than the seagoing canoes used by the Makah for thousands of years, Johnson said.
In the 1960s, the Makah built their own racing war canoes and joined the sport, Johnson said.
Johnson joined war canoe racing with his father, but dropped out in 1970s to work his fishing boat and support his family.
He has been training new crews and acting as skipper for the last seven years, since turning his fishing business over to his sons.
In 2012, there were 16 major war canoe meets in the region, including races hosted by Canadian First Nation tribes as well as tribes on the U.S. side of the border.
The Makah Days Celebration is the final race meet of the season.
The prize for winning crew can be as much as $150, split between the crew members.
It costs more for a team to race than they can earn from prize money, he said.
The war canoes range in size from small craft for one, two, four and six-person crews, to a 50-foot canoe crewed by 11, including the skipper.
Unlike competitive rowing, war canoe races involve multiple turns, or triangles with turns of 90 to 180 degrees, during 2-mile to 4.5 mile races that can lead as far as 1.5 miles from shore, and last from 18 minute to more than a half-hour.
Turns, which can be 90 to 180 degrees, can be dangerous Johnson said.
As canoes jockey for position they can knock into each other and frequently tip over, dumping their crews into the cold water.
Despite the long courses and high chance of overturning, races often end with two or more canoes speeding side by side to the finish line, Johnson said.
“They’re bumping against other canoes, paddles are clanging against each other,” he said.
“It’s really exciting,” he said.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.