JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Pebble Mine CEO resigns after recorded comments released

by Leave a Comment

The head of a proposed copper and gold mine near a prime Alaska salmon fishery has resigned after covertly filmed videos showed him talking about elected and regulatory officials and unreleased plans for the huge project.

Northern Dynasty, owner of Pebble Limited Partnership, announced the resignation of Pebble Limited CEO Tom Collier in a statement Wednesday.

The Environmental Investigation Agency, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, this week released secretly recorded Zoom conversations between Collier, Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen and activists posing as investors. The conversations occurred in August and earlier this month.

Read more things here.

We lose more than salmon and orcas to the Snake River dams

by Leave a Comment

My traditional name is O’ĉ’si’ii (oh cha see ee) and in my Qwidičča ɂ-tx (qua ditch cha uth) Makah language, it means “Lady of the Sea” or “Protector of the Sea.” If Tahlequah’s new calf and my family’s way of life are going to survive, we have to protect salmon. Returning to abundant salmon is necessary for the orcas’ survival and extremely personal for me as a mother of four fishermen sons.

My traditional name is O’ĉ’si’ii (oh cha see ee) and in my Qwidičča ɂ-tx (qua ditch cha uth) Makah language, it means “Lady of the Sea” or “Protector of the Sea.” If Tahlequah’s new calf and my family’s way of life are going to survive, we have to protect salmon. Returning to abundant salmon is necessary for the orcas’ survival and extremely personal for me as a mother of four fishermen sons.

Read more here.

New WA law helps Native voters this election. Is it enough?

by Leave a Comment

Washington lawmakers passed the Native American Voting Rights Act last year, but they couldn’t have expected the pandemic and wildfires to come.

Leaders of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are worried the challenges of the coronavirus and devastating wildfires may present too many hurdles for the people who live on this sprawling 2.1 million acre reservation in northeastern Washington.

“It seems like it’s been one thing after another,” said tribal Chairman Rodney Cawston. “These emergencies we’ve had to deal with couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

Cawston says the twin crises of 2020 have also made it harder to conduct adequate voter outreach to make sure people register and have the information they need to vote. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Washington, the Colville Tribes closed their borders to most outsiders in hopes of halting its spread. Then, more recently, fires ravaged their reservation lands and burned down dozens of homes.

Read more here.

Tribe returns to Seaquarium for annual quest to bring whale home

by Leave a Comment

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Many believe that Lolita, the whale that the Lummi Nation knows as Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, is finally getting a much-needed break as the Miami Seaquarium has been closed to visitors since March because of COVID-19.

This is the longest she’s gone without performing and Thursday marked 50 years to the day that a baby 4-year-old orca was bought to the Seaquarium after being forcibly taken from her family and sold here.

Tribal elders from the Lummi Nation, the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, were here in South Florida outside the seaquarium in a peaceful protest to continue their quest to liberate Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut. They came in prayer to mark, what is for them, a somber anniversary.

Read more here.

Standing in Solidarity with Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut

by Leave a Comment

Please join us in standing in solidarity for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut at a virtual event on September 24th, the 50th anniversary of her captivity at Miami Seaquarium.

From Lummi leaders Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Zuni) and Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley):

We are traveling to Miami and holding ceremony as part of our Xa xalh Xechnging (sacred obligation) to care for our relation and work to bring her home. Estitem-sen (we are trying our best)!

This hour-long Zoom and Facebook LiveStream event will be held from 2-3pm ET / 11am-12pm PT,  and will feature:

• Seminole and Miccosukee opening prayer
• Water Ceremony for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut
• a short film about Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s history
• Statement of Solidarity from International Indigenous Leaders
• words from our partners at Earth Law Center, Northwest Indian College, Florida International University’s Global Indigenous Forum, and Whale Sanctuary Project
• Ways for the public to engage with and support the work
• the Blackhawk Singers of Lummi Nation

Event will also be viewable on the Facebook newsfeed on the SacredSea.org homepage.

Bringing Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut home will help heal her family and ours. Bringing her home will help heal the Salish Sea. Bringing her home be a step in upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples throughout the world who are working to protect their homes, their relations, and their ancestral ways.

Hy’shqe (thank you)!

Read more here.