FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2011

RE: Guy Capoeman, Quinault Nation Master Carver, Builds an Ocean-Going Canoe with Youth from the Quinault Nation and from Seattle and Oakland, California.

An old growth cedar from the heart of the Quinault Indian Nation serves as the basis for the cultural and spiritual task of bringing together young people from the Quinault Nation with young people from the San Francisco Bay area and the Seattle area. Under the direction of Quinault carver Guy Capoeman, young people are constructing an ocean-going canoe. Much of the work is being done in Taholah. Completion of the canoe will take place in Kent, Washington at the campus of the Institute for Community Leadership. The Institute offers leadership classes to middle and senior high students in the states of Washington, Oregon and California. While the Institute works in public schools, they have their own schools in Kent and Oakland.

The primary purpose of the canoe project is education. The construction of the canoe by youth from urban areas and from the Quinault Nation provides a deep and meaningful opportunity for the Quinault youth and elders to share their culture. It also permits urban youth from diverse cultures the opportunity to learn about tribal sovereignty and the struggle for self-determination. The canoe will be stewarded by the Institute. It will travel by trailer to schools around the Salish Sea and permit students to learn of the role that tribes play in the protection of the fish, the rivers and ocean, and the forest and animals. Young people will learn more about self-government and democracy.

Guy Capoeman developed the idea of the canoe project. Guy teaches that the relationships that develop in the construction of the canoe will benefit all cultures because it will offer an opportunity for everyone to see and feel the sacredness of life. Guy is also developing the canoe project in honor of his uncle, Randy Capoeman, who passed away in 2008. Randy helped enrich the renewal of Quinault culture. He helped teach Guy that culture is the voice of the people, and a voice is necessary for the people to guide the nation forward. Building and caring for the canoe requires living with intent. “That when we live with intent,” Guy teaches, “we live in harmony with other peoples and the planet.”

The Institute for Community Leadership currently stewards a totem carved by Randy at its Kent campus. Guy carries on the tradition of bringing voice to the people. Both Randy Capoeman and Phillip Martin, Jr. have served on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Community Leadership.

For more information contact: Roy Wilson at roy@icleadership.org. 206 571 6653