Lummi Nation Totem Pole Plans San Juan, Orcas, Lopez Stops Along Cross-Country Journey
Posted April 29, 2021 at 5:30 am by Hayley Day
By Hayley Day, San Juan Update
Contributed Photo/Gary Tarleton, National Parks Service. The Lummi reef net canoe XWLEMI at rest ashore during the Lummi Nation’s visit to English Camp in summer 2014.
A Lummi Nation totem pole is conducting a cross-country trip to bring awareness to protecting Indigenous people’s land and waters, reports the Associated Press.
The journey, called the Red Road to DC, starts in Bellingham in May and will end in Washington D.C. in June.
According to a press release from organizers, Lummi tribal member Jewell Praying Wolf James and others will make three stops with the totem pole in the San Juan Islands.
From 2:30-4:30 p.m., Monday, May 10, leaders will be at English Camp on San Juan Island.
From 1-3 p.m., Tuesday, May 11, they will be at Madrona Point on Orcas Island.
From 4-5 p.m., Tuesday, they will be at Odlin County Park on Lopez Island.
The pole was carved from a 400-year-old red cedar and will be featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian this fall, reports the Associated Press.
According to the National Parks Service, “the Lummi are one of the Coast Salish peoples whose ancestors lived in the San Juan Islands.”
For more information, contact San Juan Islands Stopover Coordinator Stephanie Buffum at 360-472-0404 or visit the Facebook event pages for the San Juan Island and Orcas Island stops.
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