Snake River to Salish Sea Spirit of the Waters Totem Pole Journey
The 2022 totem pole journey aims to inspire, inform, and engage Pacific Northwest communities through intergenerational voices, ceremony, art and science, spirituality, ancestral knowledge, and cross-cultural collaboration in support of the indigenous-led movement to remove the Snake River dams and restore to health the Snake River salmon runs and our relatives, the Southern Resident Killer Whales (Skali’Chelh in the Lummi language) that depend on them.
The faith community has been asked to show up in solidarity with Lummi tribal members, the House of Tears Carvers, the intertribal nonprofit Se’Si’Le, and Native communities across the Pacific Northwest to support a Totem Pole Journey uplifting the Indigenous-led movement to honor the spirit of a free-flowing Lower Snake River and restore the health its salmon and the orca that depend on them. These special events will include ceremonial moments steeped in ancestral knowledge to deepen our understanding of what it means to be cultural and environmental stewards and the moral obligation we have to ensure the protection of all who inhabit our land and waters.
The Native leaders of this Totem Pole Journey have requested a robust faith community presence at the Spirit of the Waters events. As people of faith, we have an ethical responsibility to support this Indigenous-led movement to protect their salmon and orca relations at this critical time, and to hold the US government accountable to our Treaty promises with Native Nations. Learn more and RSVP at bit.ly/TPJfaith22.
Follow the Journey!