A canoe's journey: The Ama Sta Dayaa canoe

A canoe's journey: The Ama Sta Dayaa canoe

The C&P canoe program started in 2007.

Yeah, it's collaboration in its purest form. The canoe is, not only is it a metaphor, but it's the actual physical manifestation of having to work together to be successful.

The purpose of this canoe from day one was to, before reconciliation, was to build relationships with enforcement staff, with Nations, with youth, kind of an education that flows both ways. This canoe has seen a lot of different places over the years building relationships.

As a fisheries officer in Prince Rupert, having this canoe here means a lot to me. It means a lot to the people that I work with.

And the artist, Russell, had an open door policy. He was willing to have people come up and paint the canoe. He wanted all the love and heart to go into this thing, because that's what we really want this canoe to be used for moving forward, is to embrace the relationships.

This thing already had so many journeys and it hasn't even touched the water. From all that connection.

Every canoe has a skipper and a bowman and pullers. It wasn't just me that [has] been working on this. I'm just kind of the skipper and the rest have come in to this canoe to help along with the process.

When you get a chance to look at the canoe and da'malsk the story behind it, the designs on there, the colour, the canoe will represent different meanings to different people.

For me, you know, looking at the canoe means working together. It means us coming together all as one. From the head, representing our chiefs and our matriarch. The hands themselves speak of peace.

I am so proud today.

I like the name Ama Sta Dayaa. It means you're moving ahead slowly. Steadily moving forward. That's what it means.

And I'm so proud of Russell and all the people that are with him.

You know, having the canoe, it's probably one of the most useful tools we have in terms of building relationships and sharing experiences.

It's not just Fisheries and Oceans, or C&P, in the canoe. It's C&P, it's Fisheries and Oceans staff and it's members of the community. Because it's not about any one individual. It's about the group, and it's about bringing people together. And so this is our way to, you know, say, hey, we want to work with you. We want to, you know, work together. And so this is one of the ways that we do that. We get in the canoe and we paddle and we have a direction and a sense of purpose and a goal.

I think it's going to open doors and be able to teach, you know, both sides, of First Nations of the territory and DFO of working together.

Yeah, I'm hopeful that it will get used and it will be able to represent the culture and the connection and the growing of the two together as they paddle smoothly through the water into the future.