It's a week of celebrations for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe after a long canoe journey

After a long journey — some traveling from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska — a weeklong celebration is being held at the Muckleshoot Powwow Grounds near Auburn. Many tribes are gathered together in celebration, sharing stories and dance.

It's a celebration of both diversity and a shared identity.

“As you watch protocol on the floor, some of these songs, and dances, and drums, and the regalia is a reflection of both of those things,” said Donny Stevenson, vice chair of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. “Like how we’re tied together and the stuff that sort of unites us, but it’s also a celebration of the things that make us unique.”

Outside of the powwow grounds is a sea of tents; RVs are set up with Mt. Tahoma — officially known as Mt. Rainier — in the background.

The celebrations can often go long into the night, and over the years the list of tribes and communities in attendance has gotten longer.

Canoe culture is at the heart of the past week's journey, and this week's celebration.

“They were, for a lack of a better way to describe it...our state and interstate highway routes," Stevenson said. "Before there was I-5 or I-90 there was the Green and Duwamish river systems.”

He pointed out that these waterways extend past river systems and into the ocean. Some canoes came from as far away as the Pacific Islands this year. Celebrations will continue throughout the rest of the week before folks head home.