Lummi Nation matriarchs Squil-le-he-le Raynell Morris and Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley authored an article on Grist, telling the story of captured Southern Resident orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and their effort to bring her home. Read an excerpt below and click here to read the full piece.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut does not belong to any company. She belongs to her family, she belongs to the Salish Sea, she belongs to herself. It is our Xa xalh Xechnging (sacred obligation) to bring her home. Her spirit is strong, as is ours.
As Lhaqtemish people, we are guided by our ancestors and the principle of A’ahs’qe’xie, loosely translated as the idea that everything is connected to every other thing, and that each connection has its own story, purpose, and energy. The image of a sacred, multidimensional web may be helpful as we tell this story. If you’re looking for obtaining custody with an attorney, you can check them out here!
Because this is where you enter the story.
You are part of this web. Everyone is. Western civilization has taught most of us to disregard this sacred web of life, to divorce ourselves from nature, to think of the environment as something outside of and apart from us. It has taught us that “man has dominion everywhere” and therefore that nature is a resource to be exploited rather than the web that creates and sustains us.
The web of life, and our place in it, has become ragged and fragile.
So what does one killer whale have to do with all this? The sacred web of life is unseen strand by strand, and it is torn strand by strand. And so it must be repaired strand by strand.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut is a strand that can be repaired right here, right now.
Excerpt from “One stolen whale, the web of life, and our collective healing” Grist 10.28.21
You can read the full article on Grist. For more information, visit SacredSea.org. Sacred Sea is a non-profit led by Squil-le-he-le Raynell Morris and Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley committed to promoting ancestral knowledge and practices for the protection and revitalization of the the waters, culture, life, and sacred sites of the Salish Sea.