LUMMI NATION, Wash. — A Lummi totem pole has made it to the Seaquarium in Miami where members of the tribe and others hope to win the release of a long-captive Puget Sound orca.
“Tokitae” was captured and has been performing at the theme park for almost fifty years, but the Lummis hope to bring her back to her native waters.
Paul Anderson has traveled with Lummi carvers who created the orca totem. “The goal is to have a peaceful event and a positive event,” he said.
After their symbolic visit to the Seaquarium, Anderson expects the totem pole will be displayed at the University of Florida with other totems.
The Lummi Nation and a landowner hope to persuade the park to allow them to bring Tokitae back to a cove in the San Juan Islands.
