Indigenous activists honor endangered orcas at governor’s inauguration

Olympia, WA – Indigenous leaders and environmentalists held a ceremony on January 15, outside Governor Bob Ferguson’s inauguration, to honor the Southern Resident Orca population, which is suffering from environmental collapse.

Nearly 100 people from around the state gathered to share in grief the tremendous loss that occurred at the turn of the new year. On December 21, an orca was born to Tahlequah, who made international headlines in 2018 when her baby passed away and she continued to carry it with her for 17 days and over 1000 miles.

Only ten days after being born, Tahlequah’s newest baby passed away from starvation. Once again, Tahlequah is carrying her deceased baby, day and night, throughout the Salish Sea.

The Salish Sea is unique in its ecology and is home to a population of orcas. They are of sacred significance to the Coast Salish tribes and depend almost entirely upon Chinook salmon for their diet. Members of several Coast Salish tribes spoke, stating that all can unite around the fact that the loss of our salmon is the loss of our future.

As legendary tribal activist, water protector and earth defender of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Raymond Kingfisher aptly states, “We do this for the children.”

Attendees began the vigil at Tivoli Fountain, then walked up to the Capitol, circled the building, and stood at the front steps, drumming and singing Coast Salish songs the entire way. They passed a gathering of tents and workers quickly putting together the inaugural ball for Washington’s new governor, Bob Ferguson. Supposedly environmentally concerned, and an attorney, he has threatened to “sue the Navy” if they keep polluting the Salish Sea.

The marchers made their presence known outside the Capitol, demanding the governor do everything in his power to stop military and industrial polluters, dams and habitat destruction from killing the last remaining salmon.

Bryce Philips, Unangan of the Aleutian Islands, and member of the National Postal Handlers Union, stated, “Salmon, whales, seals, these are all very interconnected and this legislature ignores that just like they ignore the working-class people, just like they ignore the housing crisis and homelessness, just like they ignore poverty and people lacking food, just like they ignore the problems of our education system. They are never thinking of the future, and indigenous wisdom teaches us to look seven generations ahead as opposed to looking at next year’s profits and loss statement, next years what the lobbyists want to see done. It’s time to listen to working-class people, it’s time to listen to indigenous people, who have successfully managed this land for thousands of years.”

Philips continued, “If it looked like a wilderness to people, well it’s only because it was a very attractive and well maintained garden. Think of a Japanese garden, well this is a Native American garden. and people effed it up in the name of progress, and now we’re seeing this ‘progress’ means we won’t have whales anymore, we won’t have salmon anymore, it means we won’t have trees anymore, and what would Washington, the Northwest, even be without those things? It would be a dead, soulless place. So, I think it’s really of interest to all people, whatever color they may be, all who love this place, to fight to remove these dams and do what needs to be done to maintain the ecosystem and look for new ways to have power, electricity, that aren’t so harmful to our fish and our whales.”

At the Capitol steps, there were many powerful songs and testimonies.

Genesis Esponda, of Chiapas Education Project, stated after the ceremony, “To all my relatives, that means the birds, the trees, the plants, the ocean, and the ocean animals, when one of our family members suffers, we all suffer. it seems like a really important situation to bring awareness to, especially here in Olympia.”

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