For my advocacy work for Tokitae/Lolita, I had an idea to make a video to give to the Lummi Nation supporting their fight to bring her home to the Salish Sea. The campaign began with a Facebook event asking people to take a selfie while holding a sign I had made saying Until Lolita is Home.
From a mountaintop in New Zealand to Sri Lanka and Japan, it was so moving to see submissions from all over the world! Entries included Dolphin Project founder Ric O’Barry and Helene O’Barry; Rachel Carbary, founder of Empty The Tank; Margaux Dodds, director of Marine Connection; and Howard Garrett of Orca Network. I then used my minimal video-making skills to compile all the entries.
As part of their presentation at Superpod 6, Marine Connection arranged to screen the video along with the award-winning ‘The Whale Bowl’ to highlight efforts by NGOs, filmmakers, and activists on both sides of the Atlantic to retire Lolita from the Miami Seaquarium. I was so pleased that the video reached a wider audience and was well-received by the Lummi Nation. To have it screened in the same vicinity where she was captured and taken away from her home and family makes me feel deeply emotional.