Canoers and kayakers gathered on Burrard Inlet Saturday morning to participate in an Indigenous-led ceremony aimed at protecting the water surrounding Trans Mountain's Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C.

Dozens of boats launched from North Vancouver's Cates Park, where supporters watched from the beach. 

Will George, a Coast Salish member, said the water ceremony involved prayers, songs and traditional medicines. 

"This is not a protest in any way. It's a ceremony," George said. "We've invited all these lovely people to witness and now they can go home and share with their families what happened here today."

George was arrested last week after he dangled 40 hours in a hammock beneath the Second Narrows bridge in opposition to Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Greenpeace attended Saturday's event to show its resistance to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and the increase in oil tanker traffic it would bring.

"It's less of a protest and more of a recognition of what needs to be saved," said Charles Latimer, spokesperson for Greenpeace Canada. "We're here to stand by the communities that are on the front lines of this."