On May 22 the Haisla Nation Council held the Haisla Days/Canoe Race at Kitamaat Village.

Three teams accepted the invitation and competed in the 36-foot Haisla ocean-going canoes.

The canoers had to paddle a distance of 1.5 km to the finish line where a crowd of spectators had gathered to cheer on their favourite team.

In the first race, the Uwista team, led by Cassidy Bolton, finished in front of the Northern Spirit team led by Ruth Mills.

The final race had Uwista up against the Replacements led by Jake Duncan.

The Uwista team, with Ellis Ross as the skipper, started strongly but the Replacements team executed a perfect sharp turn on the first leg and held a slight lead from there that was enough to give their team the victory.

The Haisla Canoe Race is part of a long tradition. Back in the day, each clan would build a special canoe designed for racing.

The competition is still fierce today. It has become an honour just to participate in this race and even more of an honour to win it.

Once again, the Haisla Days organization would like to congratulate the 2011 Haisla Days-Canoe Race champion: The Replacements – they will have their name displayed on a banner that will hang at the Haisla Recreation Centre.

The Haisla Days organization would like to thank the volunteers for making this event a success: Sue Smith, Marilyn Furlan, Ellis Ross, Philippe Ross, Garry Wilson, Marc-André and the in-house announcer Willard Grant.

We hope to see you again next year.