Hand-carved canoes take to river

BONNERS FERRY — On May 12, the River Warrior Society met with three traditional dugout canoes to paddle the Kootenai River.

“The dugout canoes are made of cedar and hold 4-6 people. The canoes pictured here are the Kootenai canoe family, Spokane canoe family and Kalispel canoe family,” said Adam Wicks-Arshack.

The River Warrior Society is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving and promoting indigenous canoe culture on ancestral rivers and lakes.

“We carve traditional dugout canoes and make sure that youth to elders have the opportunity to go paddling and share experiences on the river,” said Wicks-Arshack.

“We are going back on the historical journeys that our people have forgotten since the coming of the settlers,” said Rex Aitken of the Kootenai Tribe. “This is part of regaining our culture.”