From Seattle Times Article - "Lummi prayers, Songs at Seaquarium Just Start of Effort to Free Captive Whale". Read full article here: https://bit.ly/2xskAmJ: "After more than 3,000 miles, Lummi Nation tribal members delivered their songs and prayers for the release of Lolita the southern-resident killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium where she has been kept for 47 years. The Seaquarium would not allow tribal members any closer than the public sidewalk outside the facility where the whale performs twice a day for food. Undeterred, tribal members on Sunday walked in procession to the Seaquarium from a nearby park through a subtropical storm lashing wind and rain. At Seaquarium, they spoke to the whale in their language, and sang to her. As they sang, the sun came out. A member of L Pod, the whale was taken from her family in Penn Cove and sold to the theme park. About a third of the southern-resident population was taken from Puget Sound and sent to theme parks all over the world during the 1960s and 1970s. The critically endangered southern-resident orca population has never recovered from the loss. 'In our language, qwe lhol mechen translates to ‘our relative under the water,’” said Jay Julius, chairman of the Lummi Nation. “She is a member of our family, and it is our sacred obligation to bring her home to the Salish Sea.' To the tribe, the campaign is about more than one whale. The tribe’s Sacred Sea campaign is also an effort to bring attention to the need to return her home waters to health. 'Our entire way of life has been threatened by bad policy that has upset the entire ecosystem of the Salish Sea,” Julius said. “The salmon, the waters, the marine life — all of it is in delicate balance, and we need better policy that protects it. We are only as healthy as the salmon, the waters and the lands we rely on to nourish and protect us.’” Watch WPLG Local 10 News Video with Interviews with Lummi Nation and Seaquarium: https://bit.ly/2HbHDlu Visit "Our Shared Responsibility: A Totem Pole Journey" on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2H84XAg