Special In-Person Totem Pole Blessing After Service
The Blessing will take place in person on our campus.
Red Road to DC Totem Pole Journey
Sunday, June 20, 2021
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami (UU Miami)
7701 SW 76th Ave., Miami, FL
All are welcome to participate.
Please follow the instructions of the event organizers and mask up!
Lummi Nation House of Tears Carvers, led by Master Carver Jewell Praying Wolf James,
is based in Bellingham, WA is renown for its Totem Pole Journeys.
The House carves Totem Poles and gifts them to Tribes and Nations
across the North American continent.
This year the House is engage in the Red Road to DC Totem Pole Journey. The House has carved a Totem Pole in honor of Sacred Sites, bringing attention to, and promoting the protection and restoration of, sacred lands, landscapes, and waterways all across the United States. Starting with bringing attention to the urgent need to address the crisis in Xw’ullemy (the Salish Sea) in the Pacific Northwest and the repatriation of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Lolita currently held by Miami Seaquarim), the Journey reminds us of our sacred obligation to honor Tribes and Nations and their struggles to restore and protect sites held sacred by them. The Journey has continued for ceremony and special events in other areas and other sites that are threatened by unsustainable destructive practices that we see here in our home waters.
There are two tours the Northwest/West Coast tour and the National Tour. The West Coast Journey which began on 21 April 2021, has visited Tribes/Nations and communities up and down the West Coast starting in Washington State and stopping in Oregon and California and then onto Miami!
The National Journey will embark on July 14th taking the Totem Pole cross-country visiting Chaco Canyon (AZ), Bears Ears (UT), Black Hills (SD), Standing Rock (ND), Missouri River (SD), White Earth (MN) and Bay Mills (MI) with virtual tours of several threatened sites in Alaska. They will then take the Totem Pole on to Washington DC and it will be presented to Biden and housed temporarily in an exhibit within the Smithsonian. The final placement of the Totem Pole will be up to the White House and the Smithsonian.
“The protection of Indigenous sacred places, Ancestors, cultural items, medicines, and cultural ways of life are paramount, and Native Nations’, traditional societies’, ceremonial grounds’, and Indigenous spiritual leaders’ authority on these matters must be given full weight and center around Indigenous free, prior, and informed consent. These are matters that pertain to: our self-determination; our families, past, present, and future; and our ability to practice our ways of life. They represent a sacred duty and traditional law, which are indigenous to these lands.
The harms done to our sacred places, Ancestors, and cultural ways of life violate our natural rights, constitutional rights, natural & spiritual laws, and individual freedoms. These harms have taken an immeasurable toll on the health, safety, welfare, and well-being of our Peoples and caused drastic and intergenerational trauma, sickness, loss, and death.
The need for the journey is part of an old story written across all indigenous lands. It is a story of coercion and violence, with new players, big money, and cooption of corrupt politicians and coopted agencies. The Indians are in the way of ‘progress’: Indians and their sacred grounds, their burial grounds, their customary way of life, and Indians who value family and future generations above short-term profit. The Red Road totem pole journey from the Salish Sea to Washington, DC, tells our story in our terms, based on our history, and based on our ancestral, inherent rights. It is a journey for now, for our ancestors, and for future generations.”
Here are some links to the Journey to provide some background on Totem Pole and the Journey.
Red Road to DC Website: redroadtodc.org
This is the place to follow them on the Journey and the events are listed here as well. On many of the events pages is listed info for the event https://www.facebook.com/totempolejourney
Here’s a video link of Jewell Praying Wolf James, describing the imagery and symbols on the Totem Pole: https://youtu.be/oLsOweAedgo
The National Tour: Lummi Nation carvers and allies to embark on national tour to D.C., give totem pole to President Biden
PLEASE DONATE!! This Journey would not happen if not for the continuing generosity
of communities along the way. Funds will be used to cover costs of gas and to provide food
and lodging for the 6-15-person crew coming your way.
Small and large donations are very gratefully accepted and appreciated.
Respect to COVID protocols is being strongly requested.
Mask up and Social Distance! Protect our Elders!