Lummi Elder Squil-le-he-le on the Documentary Resident Orca and Her Relatives Beneath the Waves
The epic story of the orca known as Lolita, Tokitae and Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut
"If you don't tell the story of her and her sacrifices. How will people know what they’ve done to her and her family?"
Over the last few years two orcas from the Salish Sea have captured the world’s imagination - a wild orca and the last southern resident in captivity.
Tahlequah… the J-Pod orca mother… showed the world that whales can grieve when she carried her dead daughters in two seperate tours of grief.
And the orca known as Lolita, Tokitae and Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, who spent fifty years in the Miami Seaquarium, as the Lummi Nation and many others fought to bring her home. The award-winning documentary, Resident Orca, chronicles the story of the epic rescue attempt - often through the eyes of the Lummi elder Squil-le-he-le (one of the movie’s executive producers).
The story is inspiring, heartbreaking and fascinating. And so is our interview with Squil-le-he-le - who has been on my interview wish list for several years.
We cover the history of the southern resident orcas, their connections with the Lummi Nation, Squil-le-he-le’s connections with Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut and what we all need to do to keep this vital society alive.
"Clean up our beaches. Stop using plastic. Talk to your electeds. And say it's enough. Breach the dams. It's enough, stop the pollution. It's enough, talk to Canada and let's join forces in saving that body of water that we all treasure and hold sacred."
Coming soon on Skaana…
Sperm whale expert, Shane Gero.
Beatrice Frank - Executive Director, Georgia Strait Alliance.
Some very cool shark stories - and sample chapters from the audiobook version of Sharks Forever to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the scariest movie of all time… Jaws.
