Tribal canoe capsizes; 1 killed (Jerry Jack, Gold River, BC)

High winds and five- to seven-foot swells capsized a Makah tribal canoe near the Dungeness Spit late Wednesday afternoon, killing a Canadian tribal chief and hospitalizing three canoeists.

Jerry Jack, 55, of Gold River, British Columbia, was pronounced dead at the scene, Clallam County Undersheriff Rich Sill said. His family was notified Wednesday evening by Neah Bay tribal police. Jack, hereditary chief of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht tribe, was involved in the controversy over the death of the orca Luna in Nootka Sound on west Vancouver Island last March.

It was not known if Jack drowned, Sill said. ``I don't think we can determine that until we get the autopsy results,'' Sill said, noting that the Sheriff's Department is treating the incident as a boating accident and will conduct an investigation with the Coast Guard.

Two men and one woman who also were aboard the capsized Makah canoe were airlifted by the Coast Guard from the base of the Dungeness Spit to a makeshift command center, then taken to Olympic Medical Center and treated for hypothermia.

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The journey, an annual gathering of Pacific Northwest and British Columbia tribes to promote traditions as well as alcohol- and drug-free lifestyles among tribal youth, is midway through a route that is scheduled to end in Seattle on Monday...(more@link)