One of the day’s highlights was meeting 11 year old Ta’Kaiya Blaney.  She is a young activist that was spoken to large crowds about No Tankers.  When she tried to visit the Engbridge Corporate Offices, she was escorted out of the building and banned.   She has recorded a song titled “Shallow Waters” that is incredible.  She was kind to take a picture for me holding up an Eagle puppet.  Watch her music video of “Shallow Waters”as it captures much of the reasons and emotions to save the Burrard Inlet and the Salish Sea from being polluted by oil.

• 5:31 Shallow Waters Official Music Video Latest Version: 10 year old Ta’Kaiya Blaney & Aileen De La Cruzby Anne Blaney108,400 view

The canoes paddled from Ambleside Beach to the Refinery docks in Burnaby.  There they gathered to sign a declaration of unity to protect the waters from an expanded Kinder Morgan pipeline and increased Tanker traffic.

The canoes then paddled towards Cates Park, and rafted together with the paddles held upwards in a symbol of peace.  The canoes then came in to shore, and one by one, a speaker from each boat, identified themself and their clanspeople in each boat.  They then asked for permission to come ashore.

Two chiefs, each from Squamish and Tsleil-waututh Nations spoke to the large crowd that gathered, to witness the arrival of the canoes.  When the canoes came to the shore, they listened to each speaker from each canoe, then acknowledged their connections and welcomed them to come ashore.