Return Captive Orca To Native Waters
Donation protected
Help Return Captive Orca Tokitae to her Ancestral Waters
"A very powerful movement is underway as Lummi Nation, other Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous allies are ramping up the pressure to free the last remaining Salish Sea Orca who has been in captivity for 47 years and return her to her home. Tokitae (aka Lolita) was one of dozens of other Orca whales, many of them very young, who were captured and sold to amusement parks in the 1960's and early 1970's. Though this practice was banned in the United States in 1972, these Orca whales often live long lives and many had survived for decades in these aquariums and theme parks. Today, Tokitae is the final remaining Salish Orca still alive in captivity and she has been living in a small tank at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida for 47 years.
Lummi Nation and others have joined a growing call to finally bring Tokitae home to her ancestral waters, where her Mother is still alive along with many of her relatives. This May, the House of Tears Carvers of Lummi Nation, led by brothers Jewell and Doug James, will be traveling once again on a Totem Pole Journey, across the west coast and southern states to the final destination of Miami, Florida. The carvers have been working on a Tokitae totem pole to be taken to Miami and to be used to rally communities to support Tokitae's return to her ancestral waters. Lummi, in collaboration with scientists and specialist, have been working on a rehabilitation program for Tokitae once she is returned to the Salish Sea. This program includes a sanctuary in a large, private cove on Orcas Island, where the Orca can be reacclimated to the Salish waters and rehabilitated to her homelands.
The purpose of this journey, like the others before them, is to educate, inform and bring communities together across the country. This will be a 30-day Totem Pole Journey stopping in 15 cities and in several Indigenous Nations and Indigenous communities.
Our job, as the media team and specialists, has always been to capture and document this journey with video, audio and photography that can be shared far and wide. We also serve as a liaison for press outlets looking to cover the journey. Tens of thousands of people have followed the stories of these journeys online and hundreds of thousands have seen or read about the journey in local and national newspapers, TV networks and radio stations. These journeys do not have the impact they are intended to without our compelling media getting out to local communities and international audiences.
This journey is special for a lot of reasons and Lummi resources are committed to making sure this campaign is a success AND that Tokitae have a safe and endearing home to return to on Orcas Island in the Salish Sea. We are asking you to support our work for the Totem Pole Journey, for the House of Tears Carvers and for Tokitae. The journey could use all the support it can muster this year, as the expenses for relocating and ensuring Tokitae's safety are in the millions. That is why we have turned to you to help assist our media team in getting this compelling and important story out there. Your money will go hotel and travel expenses during the journey for our media team of four people.
This is an opportunity for all of us to right a wrong. Tokitae will be kept in a cove on Orcas Island where she will be acclimated to the waters of the Salish Sea and, hopefully, eventual set free to return to her Mother and family.
The costs for this 30+ day, cross country journey include:
Food expenses $4,860
Hotel accommodations $5,980
Funds towards car rental, gas & small stipend $2,360
Media Equipment $800
Thank you so much for helping the story of the Totem Pole Journeys to spread across the country and around the globe! You can always follow us on the facebook page and, come May, look for daily updates and dispatches on the website below:
https://www.facebook.com/totempolejourney/
https://totempolejourney.com/
"A very powerful movement is underway as Lummi Nation, other Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous allies are ramping up the pressure to free the last remaining Salish Sea Orca who has been in captivity for 47 years and return her to her home. Tokitae (aka Lolita) was one of dozens of other Orca whales, many of them very young, who were captured and sold to amusement parks in the 1960's and early 1970's. Though this practice was banned in the United States in 1972, these Orca whales often live long lives and many had survived for decades in these aquariums and theme parks. Today, Tokitae is the final remaining Salish Orca still alive in captivity and she has been living in a small tank at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida for 47 years.
Lummi Nation and others have joined a growing call to finally bring Tokitae home to her ancestral waters, where her Mother is still alive along with many of her relatives. This May, the House of Tears Carvers of Lummi Nation, led by brothers Jewell and Doug James, will be traveling once again on a Totem Pole Journey, across the west coast and southern states to the final destination of Miami, Florida. The carvers have been working on a Tokitae totem pole to be taken to Miami and to be used to rally communities to support Tokitae's return to her ancestral waters. Lummi, in collaboration with scientists and specialist, have been working on a rehabilitation program for Tokitae once she is returned to the Salish Sea. This program includes a sanctuary in a large, private cove on Orcas Island, where the Orca can be reacclimated to the Salish waters and rehabilitated to her homelands.
The purpose of this journey, like the others before them, is to educate, inform and bring communities together across the country. This will be a 30-day Totem Pole Journey stopping in 15 cities and in several Indigenous Nations and Indigenous communities.
Our job, as the media team and specialists, has always been to capture and document this journey with video, audio and photography that can be shared far and wide. We also serve as a liaison for press outlets looking to cover the journey. Tens of thousands of people have followed the stories of these journeys online and hundreds of thousands have seen or read about the journey in local and national newspapers, TV networks and radio stations. These journeys do not have the impact they are intended to without our compelling media getting out to local communities and international audiences.
This journey is special for a lot of reasons and Lummi resources are committed to making sure this campaign is a success AND that Tokitae have a safe and endearing home to return to on Orcas Island in the Salish Sea. We are asking you to support our work for the Totem Pole Journey, for the House of Tears Carvers and for Tokitae. The journey could use all the support it can muster this year, as the expenses for relocating and ensuring Tokitae's safety are in the millions. That is why we have turned to you to help assist our media team in getting this compelling and important story out there. Your money will go hotel and travel expenses during the journey for our media team of four people.
This is an opportunity for all of us to right a wrong. Tokitae will be kept in a cove on Orcas Island where she will be acclimated to the waters of the Salish Sea and, hopefully, eventual set free to return to her Mother and family.
The costs for this 30+ day, cross country journey include:
Food expenses $4,860
Hotel accommodations $5,980
Funds towards car rental, gas & small stipend $2,360
Media Equipment $800
Thank you so much for helping the story of the Totem Pole Journeys to spread across the country and around the globe! You can always follow us on the facebook page and, come May, look for daily updates and dispatches on the website below:
https://www.facebook.com/totempolejourney/
https://totempolejourney.com/
Fundraising team: Paul Anderson , Nancy Bleck , Matthew Fulcrum (2)
Paul Anderson
Organiser
Bellingham, WA
Nancy Bleck
Team member
