The Lummi hope to bring Lolita the orca home

Lolita the orca was captured near Puget Sound in 1970 and transported to Miami's Seaquarium where she has been an exhibit ever since. Earlier this year members of the Lummi tribe believe that Lolita, who is also known as Tokitae, sent them "a message" asking them to bring her home. For the three months, six craftsmen of the Native American Lummi tribe sculpted a 175-year-old western red cedar tree into the likeness of the orca. This week they arrived at the Sequarium with their 16 foot totem pole.

The Miami New Times  reports Kurt Russo, a friend of the tribe who helped transport the totem pole across the country from Washington state, explaining that “The blackfish in Lummi [are called] qwe lhol mechen, meaning ‘the people that live under the water'. In Lummi cosmology, they were and are people and family.”

Russo, like many of his Lummi friends, believes the totem pole's arrival in Miami will help advocate for the orca's return to Washington. In 1970, Lolita was captured near Puget Sound and has been on display at the marine park largely ever since.
"Her capture and her captivity is one chain of cruelty," Russo says. "She sings her family song, calling out in the night. Her mother is now the matriarch of the pod."
"It will be an inspired and inspiring experience for everyone, including Tokitae, who we've been assured takes comfort in our arrival," Russo adds.

Seaquarium staff have maintai that the orca will suffer if reintroduced back into the wild. But the Lummi haven’t given up on the dream of reuniting Tokitae with her pod in the Pacific Northwest. “The Lummi will not stop until she is returned to her family,” Russo says. “All they have to gain is the satisfaction of the end of her suffering.”