Sacred Lands Conservancy

In 2024, our efforts were focused on:EDUCATION1) Sa'le Q'ewet Netse-lh/Our Hearts Beat as One, a bilingual Xwlemi Chosen/English children's book about the Lummi people's special connection to the captive orca Lolita/Tokitae/Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut. The story told in the book is the story lived by Lummi people and their supporters as they worked to bring their orca relation out of captivity at the Miami Seaquarium and back home to the Salish Sea. The book is written in English, with Lummi language translation. It is illustrated by Coast Salish artist Jason LaClair. The back pages are filled with educational materials and activities related to the story, to orcas, to the Lummi people, and to Coast Salish art. The book is being taught as part of the Since Time Immemorial curriculum in the Bellingham School district.2) The Mountaineers: we wrote a series of articles and blog posts for the Mountaineers magazine, educating the public on regional treaties, land acknowledgments, and Indigenous place names.3) Our Hearts Honoring Ceremony: we invited the public to witness the story of how Lummi tribal members worked to bring their relation Tokitae. We blanketed the Lummi tribal members, invited speakers to the floor, and shared a multi-media presentation of "Sa'le Q'ewet Netse'lh/Our Hearts Beat as One." This event was free and open to the public.4) ongoing readings and classroom visits pertaining to the bookMEDIA PRESENCE AND RELATIONS1) ongoing interviews, film festival screenings, panel discussions related to the documentary films "Scha'nexw Elhtal'nexw Salmon People: Preserving A Way of Life," "Resident Orca, and "The Last Reefnetter."2) ongoing monthly "Since Time Immemorial" interview/photo series in Bellingham Alive! magazineCULTURAL PROJECTSWe continued to develop "The Protector" idea, in which a statue of a traditional Lummi woman would serve both as protector of all Lummi people out on the water and as a memorial to those lost at sea.