In ear­ly August 2013 mem­bers from 100 dif­fer­ent native tribes pad­dled 70 mas­sive dugout-styled canoes from all over the North­west and British Colum­bia to arrive at the Quin­ault Indi­an Reser­va­tion in Washington.

They fought their way through storms, fog, rough water, and some incred­i­ble dis­tances. A native tribe from the Palouse region of east­ern Wash­ing­ton pad­dled the length of the Colum­bia Riv­er and up the rugged Pacif­ic coast­line to reach the cer­e­mo­ni­al land­ing site.

As soon as they stepped ashore a six-day cel­e­bra­tion began. This year’s inter­na­tion­al gath­er­ing brought upward of 12,000 peo­ple to join the fes­tiv­i­ties. They sang and danced and feast­ed on elk, crab, and salmon all while exchang­ing gifts.

Enjoy this video from Sam Beebe at Ecotrust who cap­tured the surf land­ing of one of these mas­sive canoes.

View more pho­tos here.