OUR GEM: Love Our Lake Week was a success
Coeur d’Alene Tribal members describe the process of building their dugout canoe, Warch, during a presentation on the NIC campus as part of Love Our Lake Week. Courtesy photo.
On behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative (OGC), we would like to thank everyone who participated in the first-ever Love Our Lake Week, July 13 through 17.
Love Our Lake Week was kicked off by “Coffee Talk, A Simple Look at a Complicated Lake” at McEuen Pavilion, where Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council Vice-Chairman Gene ‘Hemene’ James provided opening remarks and a prayer, followed by presenters talking about lake impacts and improvements to the City of Coeur d’Alene’s stormwater system aimed at protecting the lake.
Love Our Lake Week also included a lake-focused trivia night; Music at McEuen; and great talks on Coeur d’Alene Tribal traditional canoes, a mobile boat cleaning station that helps prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, the importance of native riparian vegetation, and an overview of the Bureau of Land Management’s Cougar Bay restoration project.
Participants enjoyed the week’s events and showed strong support for our lake! Winners of the grand prize drawing, held on Friday of Love Our Lake Week, were Christian Villagomez of Hayden (boat rental), Sheree Jerome of Coeur d’Alene (boat rental), and Melissa Johannson of Coeur d’Alene (commemorative silver coin).
What were some of the highlights of the week? Trivia night at Vantage Point Brewing was a winner! People had a good time confirming what they know about the Coeur d’Alene Basin, and many indicated they learned new things about its history and the lake’s health. Another favorite was the performance by the Rose Creek Singers, from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, at Music at McEuen on Wednesday evening. It was a special feature, underscoring the Tribe’s cultural and spiritual ties to Coeur d’Alene Lake. The songs brought a presence to the event, held on the shores of Coeur d’Alene Lake, that could be felt by the crowd.
Several events were attended by Duncan Menzies, Christina Villagomez, Sarah Thompson Moore, and Jessica Bryant - art fellows with the Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance’s Living Lake Project. This project has been introducing artists to the history and culture of the Coeur d’Alene Basin and concerns related to the health of the lake.
Duncan enjoyed both trivia night and the cultural talk at Thursday’s event. He said it was, “an opportunity you wouldn’t normally get - to see the Tribe’s canoe and hear about how they built it.”
Christina concurred. She said she had watched the video “Boss of the Lake” about the return of canoe culture to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. She said it was “cool to get to see the canoe in person, and it was beautiful work.” She enjoyed the interaction with tribal members, hearing the details and stories about making the dugout canoe, such as how it got its name (Warch, meaning frog, because a tree frog made the canoe its home during its creation) and the age of the Western Redcedar that was carved out to create the canoe (over 700 years old).
What did you think of Love Our Lake Week? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this or other events you would like to see happen for Our Gem, Coeur d’Alene Lake. Send your thoughts to Jamie Brunner at [email protected] or call 208-666-4623.
A huge thanks goes out to our sponsors of Love Our Lake Week: Hagadone Marine Group, Sunshine Silver Mining and Refining, 95.3 KPND/K102 Country, and the Washington State Lake Protection Association. Also, special thanks to Koep Concerts for supporting our efforts. We could not have done this without these folks and without the community!
For more information about the Our Gem Collaborative, visit: https://iwrri.uidaho.edu/outreach-o