Paddling Flathead Lake Creates ‘Montana Aloha’

At sunrise on a summer morning, Hawaiian chants carried across Flathead Lake in Montana. Moments later, elders from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes offered a blessing of their own. Both cultures were united in their call for safe passage for hundreds of paddlers preparing to voyage across the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi.

Before launching, participants waded into the turquoise shallows to place flowers in the water, honoring loved ones lost to breast cancer. Then they climbed into dozens of six-person Polynesian outrigger canoes to begin a 30-mile crossing of the mountain-framed lake.

This voyage was part of Montana Paddle Palooza, a three-day event held in Polson, Montana each July. It’s more than just a race or a festival. The paddling summit is a way to recognize and recover from the impacts of breast cancer. It’s a way to honor nature. And it’s a bridge between the many cultures that are connected by water.

“This is Montana aloha,” says Nancy Condit, a Missoula-based breast cancer survivor and president of the Silver Lining Foundation. “It’s not just exercise, or a way to get from point A to point B. It’s a spiritual experience.”

Paddling Is A Path Forward For Breast Cancer Survivors

The Silver Lining Foundation began in 2015 as a small gathering of women in Missoula, Montana who were supporting each other in the aftermath of breast cancer treatment. The group became a nonprofit organization in 2017. Today, nearly 400 members of the group share a common goal: achieving and maintaining wellness of body, mind and spirit.

Part of that wellness includes paddling, which has been proven to build upper body strength as well as foster joy in women recovering from breast cancer. “Studies have shown that regular exercise can reduce the rate of recurrence by 40 to 50% in breast cancer survivors,” Condit told me when we met at a coffee shop in Missoula.

The Silver Lining Foundation’s introduction to paddling came in the form of dragon boating, a 2,000-year-old Chinese tradition where 20 people paddle a large canoe in synchronized motion. Women paddled these boats on nearby lakes or ponds a few times each week and also participated in the annual Dragon Boat Festival on Flathead Lake each summer.

Then Condit visited Maui in 2021—a trip that deepened her relationship with paddling.

Early one morning, Condit visited a Hawaiian paddling club and met Kimokeo Kapahulehua, an esteemed Native paddler and cultural teacher. Founder of the Kimokeo Foundation, Kapahulehua perpetuates traditional Hawaiian culture, in part by creating canoe clubs around the world.

Condit had never paddled an outrigger before. She joined Kapahulehua that morning, gliding across the dawn-lit sea. As they paddled through the lagoon, Kapahulehua chanted songs.

“I didn’t know what he was saying when he was chanting,” Condit recalled during our meeting. “But I could feel it. I was in tears.”

She was hooked—even after a huli (capsize) tossed her into the ocean in breaking surf.

By the end of that day, Condit and Kapahulehua had hatched an unlikely plan: bring outrigger paddling to Montana.

Building A Polynesian Movement In Big Sky Country

Within six months, Condit had bought a couple of decades-old outrigger canoes and rallied a small group of women to try something new. Kapahulehua flew in from Hawaii and helped six women undertake their first voyage, a 25-mile paddle across Flathead Lake in the summer of 2021.

That initial voyage spurred the foundation to launch Montana Paddle Palooza, which has grown exponentially. In 2025, more than 240 people completed the annual voyage in outriggers, traveling from Hawaii and Tahiti, Oregon and Washington, British Columbia and from all corners of Montana.

Hundreds of people also competed in a series of short outrigger sprints the day before. Participants even had the chance to take paddling clinics on Flathead Lake with three-time world champion Iloha Eychenne, a Tahitian outrigger racer.

All proceeds from the event fund the foundation’s work to help breast cancer survivors recover.

Condit and Kapahulehua worked together to open the Montana Canoe Club in 2023, part of the Inland Northwest Canoe Club. Based in Big Arm, Montana, the club allows people to practice paddling one-person or six-person outrigger canoes twice weekly. The Silver Lining Foundation also operates a strength training gym in Missoula for breast cancer survivors.

“Our unofficial motto is: ‘Train like our lives depend on it, because they do’,” Condit said.

But for these women, the benefits of padding extend well beyond physical fitness. It builds camaraderie and purpose.

“Movement is medicine, but community is everything,” Condit told me. “We’ve lost women along the way, and we honor them in everything we do.”

During the annual voyage, each canoe carries the names of paddlers who have passed—sometimes even marking the exact seats where the women once sat. Every stroke is an act of remembrance as well as a celebration of the moments they have left together.

Paddling Creates A Cultural Bridge In Montana

What makes Montana Paddle Palooza unique is its blending of cultural traditions. The event takes place on the Flathead Indian Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes who have strong connections to the region’s lakes and rivers. Tribal elders are invited to open the annual event, and several Tribal members join teams during outrigger sprints and the voyage.

Canoeing has also deep roots in Polynesian culture, where paddling is grounded in traditional navigation techniques as well as a spiritual respect for the ocean and land.

“There’s so much intention here,” Condit said. “It’s more about tradition than competition.”

Kapahulehua agrees. Now in his late 70s, he continues to travel to Montana—along with many other places around the globe—to mentor paddlers and support the growing community.

“Canoe people are always in touch with nature and each other,” Kapahulehua told me at the 2025 Paddle Palooza. “Through paddling, people hear, feel, and see their connections—to the water, to the morning, to themselves.”

As he moved through the crowd gathered on the shores of Flathead Lake last summer, participants greeted him with hugs and the traditional touching of foreheads. Everyone called him “Uncle,” a sign of respect in Hawaiian culture.

“I have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,” Kapahulehua said. “My ancestors preserved this knowledge for thousands of years. Now I am asking: how do I carry it forward another 4,000?”

The Silver Lining From Breast Cancer: Community

The Montana Paddle Palooza will take place at the Polson County Fairgrounds from July 9 to 12, 2026. The event includes a long-distance voyage and outrigger sprints, as well as standup paddleboard (SUP) races on the river in partnership with the Flathead River Rumble.

The average age of participants is late 50s. Many have survived breast cancer. Some never considered themselves athletes. All found something unexpected on the water.

The Montana Paddle Palooza is about more than pulling a canoe through the water. It’s a cultural exchange, a confidence booster, a support system—and a powerful reminder that healing doesn’t happen in isolation.

“This community—that’s the silver lining from having breast cancer,” Lynn Fischer, vice-president of the Silver Lining Foundation told me at last year’s event. “I wouldn’t trade it, not in a heartbeat.”

For other women recovering from breast cancer or anyone looking for inspiration in hard times, Condit offers this counsel: “Find your tribe. Stay active. Listen to the universe. Sometimes the most unexpected paths lead to the most meaningful destinations.”