Two brothers, Jewell and Doug James, first started carving totem poles back in 2001 after 9/11. The brothers, both members of the Lummi Nation in Washington, created these poles as gifts meant to heal. They toured them around the U.S. and invited people to put their hands on them because people are what make the poles sacred, Doug told Earther.
Now, the brothers are using their carving skills to take up a different cause: threatened whales. Specifically, the 75 critically endangered orcas that call the Salish Sea along the Pacific Northwest coast home. A 3,000-pound totem pole they helped carve will sit in the Florida Museum of Natural History starting December 8 as part of the “Whale People: Protectors of the Sea” exhibit to help raise awareness of the struggle these animals face due to climate change, starvation, and the fossil fuel industry.
For the Lummi, this fight is personal; they see the orcas as their relatives. Read more here.
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