Netse Mot: Support Lummi Nation and Xw’ullemy (the Salish Sea) 2nd Call for Support: Bring Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut Home! JUUstice Washington has signed . . . Board of Trustees of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship has signed . . . Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship’s Social and Environmental … [Read more...]
Netse Mot: Bringing Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut Home!
Netse Mot 2021-Call to bring Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut Home 2021 will focus on the return of Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) to the Pacific Northwest from Miami Seaquarim in Florida. In the 1970s Southern Resident Orca youth were forcibly and violently taken from their pods and shipped out to … [Read more...]
Bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut Home!
Special Alert! A request on behalf of Deb Cruz, JUUstice Washington's President It's long been since time . . . Bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut Home! A sacred request from Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Morris) and Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley) "Our Lhaq'temish [Lummi] people have had a special relationship … [Read more...]
Seaquarim’s Shame: Episode 1 – Tokitae
Something is wrong at Miami Seaquarium.. They have been keeping an orca who doesn’t belong to them for over 50 years. A produce salesman turned vegan activist fights for over a decade on the street corner in front of Miami Seaquarium, turning away thousands of cars. A new legal fight launches in … [Read more...]
Tribe returns to Seaquarium for annual quest to bring whale home
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 … [Read more...]
Standing in Solidarity with Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut
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 … [Read more...]
“The Condor and the Eagle” film screening and fundraiser for Tokitae Fund of Lummi Nation’s Lhaqtemish Foundation
Join the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth, the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship and many other friends and allies as we come together virtually as people of faith and conscience to celebrate the Fall Equinox, watch this award-winning documentary, hear from the filmmakers & protagonists, … [Read more...]
Sacred duty: Bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenau home
Research by leading NAGPRA experts agree there is a strong case to be made that Sk’aliCh’elh-tenau qualifies for return under NAGPRA"Just to give a little background, under NAGPRA it requires the return of some Native American cultural items to the people that they came from. And Sk’aliCh’elh-tenau … [Read more...]
Earth Law Center joins effort to free Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) Press Conference
Earth Law Center joins effort to free Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) Press Conference WHAT: A virtual press conference at which individual Lummi tribal members Tah-Mahs (Ellie Kinley) and Squil-le-he-le (Raynell Morris) will announce the next step of their work to bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut … [Read more...]
The Whale Bowl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHTilyDYSB8&fbclid=IwAR1Q1MRDBnDb_EWYnSSguDpx9Kg9ogTLL38kNC1jmePypCD6d8aEfpLP9wY … [Read more...]
Captive orcas could retire in Northwest, but some worry about harm to endangered whales
KNKX, By BELLAMY PAILTHORP • DEC 4, 2019 Now, a new nonprofit group is making the case that no cetaceans should be held captive and forced to perform for food. It’s called The Whale Sanctuary Project. It would be a $15 million facility where roughly a half dozen captive orcas could safely retire. … [Read more...]
A Prayer for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut
Below is a request from Lummi Nation. As some of you may know, Lummi Nation is seeking the return of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita). For those of you who don’t know, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) is the last remaining Orca that was brutally taken in the 1970s raids on the J, L, K pods … [Read more...]
Lummi Members to sue Seaquarium to bring captive orca home EVENT
July 27th, 11:00 am, Lummi Nation Reservation … [Read more...]
Liberation for Sk’aliCh’et–tenaut – Lummi Nation
Press conference at an inter-tribal gathering announcing the intention to sue Seaquarium and its parent companies to secure the repatriation of Tokitae. More Info: Kurt Russo 360 312 2292 Lummi Nation and www.sacredsea.org Until Lolita is Home is a grassroots movement that advocates for the … [Read more...]
Penn Cove Orca Capture Commemoration
The day will also include a waterside ceremony, a program including Howard Garrett and Susan Berta of Orca Network, and news from the Lummi Nation on new actions being taken for Tokitae. 49 years ago over 100 Southern Resident orcas were herded into Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, WA. Seven of … [Read more...]
Lummi highlights orca preservation in Florida museum exhibit
The Lummi whale rider totem was journeyed down the west coast of the United States in May of 2018 to raise awareness about endangered southern resident killer whales – particularly one Puget Sound orca, Tokitae, who was taken captive from the Pacific Northwest in 1970 and has been at the Seaquarium … [Read more...]
The push to free Tokitae – Interview
The Lummi Tribe is hoping 2019 will be the year an orca named Tokitae is freed from captivity. Named ‘Lolita’ by Miami’s Seaquarium, the animal has lived and performed in a man-made tank since 1970. The tribe and a host of animal rights groups are putting pressure on the Seaquarium to return her to … [Read more...]
Efforts to bring orca Tokitae home chronicled in new book
A Puget Sound Orca in Captivity: The Fight To Bring Lolita Home by Sandra Pollard. http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/life/efforts-to-bring-orca-tokitae-home-chronicled-in-new-book/ … [Read more...]
A Native American tribe demands the return of its spiritual relative
https://religionnews.com/2018/12/10/a-native-american-tribe-demands-the-return-of-its-spiritual-relative-an-orca/?fbclid=IwAR0BzybJcOfK9KzhiczEbvLIvVMPKfi-Ami7uILMPsOM_0Oo96p6e_gsdNQ … [Read more...]
Pop-Up Museums as Political Organizing: Can Totem Poles Help Turn the Tide on Fossil Fuels?
For the last six years, the new totem poles have focused on issues relating to the fossil fuel industry. The newest carving emphasizes risks to the Salish Sea (off northwest Washington and southwest British Columbia) and its dwindling population of orcas, or killer whales, if proposed industry … [Read more...]