Netse Mot:  Support Lummi Nation and Xw’ullemy (the Salish Sea) 

2nd Call for Support:  Bring Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut Home!

Have you?

Netse Mot 2021-Call to bring Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut Home

1. For individuals, they are asking that we sign the petition established by Earth Law Center that is collecting signatures to go to Miami Seaquarim and its parent and affiliates—Palace Entertainment and Parques Reunidos Servicios Centrales SA.
2. For groups and organizations, they are asking that we sign a request to Governor's Inslee (WA) and Brown (OR) and BC Premier John Horgan to sign a proclamation to support the efforts to bring her home.  Please sign by 24 May 2021.  We'd like to present it to the Governors in June during Orca Action Month.
3. We are also being asked to reach out to other Indigenous connections we may have and invite them to sign the Indigenous Statement of Solidarity.  The request also includes a video of ceremonies in solidarity.  If you have connections with an Indigenous group, please ask them to contact  Julie at info@sacredsea.org.

Special Alert!

Bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut Home!

• Ceremonies for Ska’liCh’elh-tenaut Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Ceremonies-for-Skalichelh-tenaut-111624844000057
• SacredSea.org Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut page: https://sacredsea.org/skalichelhtenaut/
• Petition link: https://www.change.org/p/miami-seaquarium-free-endangered-orca-held-captive-at-miami-seaquarium-for-50-years
• SacredSea YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qWShmGWtn3HPU-cpWj81Q

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 2020 headed by The Lummi Nation of the Pacific North West. Still: 19,785 days later Lolita the whale remains alone in the smallest tank in the world. Episode 1: Tokitae

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.

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHTilyDYSB8&fbclid=IwAR1Q1MRDBnDb_EWYnSSguDpx9Kg9ogTLL38kNC1jmePypCD6d8aEfpLP9wY

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. The group’s extensive roster includes dozens of scientists and trainers — some who once worked in the captive industry. They want to put their first facility in the Pacific Northwest. “We’re attached to the Southern Residents. We want to do whatever we can to help them,” said the group’s founder and president Lori Marino, as she toured the Northwest this summer. Read more here.

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 from Penn Cove.  Over 40 Orca youth were taken from our waters and dispersed to various aquarium around the world.  Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae/Lolita) is growing older now and is near retirement from the aquarium.  She has spent all but 4 years of her life (about 43 years) in a small concrete tank.  She still remembers her pod’s songs.  Lummi Nation has been trying to get Miami Seaquarium to release her and let her come home to spend her remaining years in the waters of her home and with her family (her mother is still alive).  She will be kept in a special sanctuary and a detailed plan has been worked out to bring her home and secure her for the remainder of her life.  

July 27th, 11:00 am, Lummi Nation Reservation

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 retirement of Lolita the orca from the Miami Seaquarium. By raising awareness about Lolita (and ALL cetaceans in captivity) we hope one day Tokitae (her original name) will see her home waters again. We are an all- volunteer group with “members” located around the world. Starting in May 2015, Until Lolita is Home (formerly Shut Down Palace) hosted rallies at dozens of locations in the United States and abroad, including the Miami Seaquarium and numerous other Palace Entertainment-owned sites. Join the Until Lolita is Home Movement www.facebook.com/UntilLolitaisHome www.RetireLolita.com http://josweb.co.uk/ UntilLolitaisHome@gmail.com www.instagram.com/untillolitaishome https://twitter.com/UntilLolitaHome

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 the young whales were netted and delivered to marine parks around the world.  All but one had died by 1987. Originally named Tokitae, they now call her Lolita.  In memory of the nearly 40 Southern Resident orcas captured in Washington State, and the 13 orcas killed during the captures, and in honor of Tokitae, the sole survivor, Orca Network is sponsoring a series of events on Tuesday August 8th to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1970 Penn Cove Orca Capture. Please join us as we commemorate the capture of Southern Resident orcas in Penn Cove and honor Tokitae/Lolita - the only survivor of those captures. On Wednesday August 8th From 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm, we will be at the Coupeville Wharf with educational displays and information about Tokitae and the orca captures. From 3:00 to 5:00 the Suva and Cutty Sark will provide ceremonial boat trips into Penn Cove. We'll travel to the capture sites in Penn Cove for a wreath ceremony to remember the orcas killed in the captures, and those who have died in captivity. If you have your own boat or kayak you are welcome to join us in Penn Cove for a procession to the capture site. We'll provide flowers and cedar sprigs to toss into the water, or you may bring your own flower or other eco-friendly offering to toss in the water during the ceremony. Tickets for the boat trip are $75 and registration is available via the Registration button below.  At 5:30 pm we will hold a program and waterside ceremony at the Coupeville Wharf including Howard Garrett and Susan Berta of Orca Network, and news from the Lummi Nation on new actions being taken for Tokitae. At 6:00 pm we will honor Toki’s Southern Resident family with a vigil of remembrance for their recent losses and of hope for their recovery. Please join us at the Coupeville Wharf, or at a beach near you, and observe a moment of silence for the Southern Residents and for Tokitae. After the Coupeville Wharf event, we invite those interested to a no-host gathering at the Captain Whidbey Inn lounge/deck.  Register here.

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 in Miami ever since. Lummi has continually sought to return Tokitae (known by the Seaquarium as her performer name “Lolita”) to the Salish Sea in a Washington whale sanctuary where she could be cared for and reintroduced to swim with her family, but the Seaquarium has refused. Read more here . . .

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 her home pod in and around Puget Sound. The push to return the orca is part of a bigger effort to bring attention to the health of the marine ecosystem that is part of the Lummi’s ancestral territory. We’ll talk with Lummi representatives and others about Tokitae and the traditional importance of orcas. Listen here.  (Indian country news headlines and a few commercials start off the interview which starts at the 06:00 mark.) http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/wednesday-january-2-2019-the-push-to-free-tokitae/  

A Puget Sound Orca in Captivity: The Fight To Bring Lolita Home

https://religionnews.com/2018/12/10/a-native-american-tribe-demands-the-return-of-its-spiritual-relative-an-orca/?fbclid=IwAR0BzybJcOfK9KzhiczEbvLIvVMPKfi-Ami7uILMPsOM_0Oo96p6e_gsdNQ  

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 initiatives are not stopped. This month, the new totem of a whale will take its place in a traveling exhibition opening at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. The exhibition, titled Whale People: Protectors of the Sea, “narrates the plight of the orcas from an Indigenous perspective.” The exhibition was created by Lummi Nation and a nonprofit pop-up museum called The Natural History Museum. Read more here. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2018/12/04/pop-up-museums-as-political-organizing-can-totem-poles-help-turn-the-tide-on-fossil-fuels/