Hundreds of people gathered at the southernmost point of Puget Sound on Saturday to celebrate life, culture and the environment with the Squaxin Island tribe.

The Healing of the Water ceremony crowned the second Standing Chass Festival at Budd Inlet in Olympia.

Chairman Kris Peters explained to the crowd that the people preserved the tribe’s culture, language, songs and dances out of reverence and honor of their Steh-Chass ancestors, who did the same in the Olympia area thousands of years ago.

“We are as strong and resilient and self-determined as ever and we are proud,” he said. “But as Squaxins, we are not only connected to our traditions. We are connected to the land. We are connected to the trees and the air and the animals. We are connected to all of that.”

Tribal members rode in canoes alongside members of the Muckleshoot Tribe to the dam on 5th Avenue. The healing ceremony celebrated, in part, the long-considered decision to remove the dam and reintegrate Capitol Lake into the mouth of the Deschutes River.

As the tribes navigated their canoes toward the dam, they sang songs and played drums. Several tribal members who participated in the last water healing ceremony 30 years ago were also present Saturday.

Members of the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team helped distribute bags of water from the artesian well downtown. Jaimie Cruz, vice chair of the Squaxin Island Tribe, encouraged people to participate in the ceremony by taking a sip of water and pouring the rest into the strait.

As Cruz spoke about the importance of the health of Puget Sound and the Deschutes River and its connection to salmon and life in general, a school of salmon splashed in front of her. Great blue herons and harbor seals were also seen at the event.

“These artesian waters are sacred and protected,” Cruz said. “People come from far away to stand near the water because they believe it is full of good minerals and good medicine.”