Lummi Leaders to Discuss “Visions of Xwe’chi’eXen”

Friday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Odd Fellows Hall

— from the Orcas NoCOALition —

Lummi Coal Port Expansion Protest, 2012. Photo courtesy of Floyd McKay and Crosscut.com

On Friday evening, April 18, Lummi tribal leaders will speak out again about their opposition to the proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point near Bellingham. The event will occur from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall in Eastsound.

Ever since 2011, when SSA Marine began filing permit requests to build a new coal export terminal at Cherry Point, the Lummi Nation has been assessing its potentially devastating effects on traditional native fisheries, as well as the desecration of the ancestral landscape and seascape at Xwei’chi’eXen (the Lummi name for Cherry Point). In September 2012 a broad cross section of tribal members gathered there to express strong opposition to the project — an event that made national news.

In August 2013, a group including Lummi Business Council Secretary Jeremiah (“Jay”) Julius visited Orcas to deliver this message to island folks. That meeting also served to spread word about plans to take a large totem pole on a September journey to help raise voices among diverse Northwest communities. It traveled along the coal train route from the Power River Basin of Wyoming, across Montana and Idaho, through Oregon and Washington to the Lummi territory northwest of Bellingham, and thence on to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jewell James at ceremony honoring the journey and arrival of his totem pole

The totem pole was carved by Lummi master carver Jewell James and the House of Tears carvers. Formerly the director of Lummi fisheries, James will recount his experiences among these communities and tribes, from coal fields to coast. He plans another such journey in the summer of 2014 to bring together the issues of tar-sands oil, Bakken oil shipment, and the storage and shipment of coal.

Jay Julius will speak about the historical and cultural significance of Xwe’chi’eXen to the Lummi people and give an update on efforts to defeat the project. As a tribal leader and fisherman, he is passionate about protecting the Salish Sea from any further degradation, and is taking steps to help restore its health.

The Lummi Nation is a key player in the struggle against the coal terminal, because an 1855 treaty and subsequent legal decisions guaranteeing preservation of tribal fishing rights have been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. The right to have traditional and sacred archaeological sites respected has also been successfully defended in court.

Admission to the April 18 meeting — at the Odd Fellows Hall, 112 Haven Road, Eastsound — is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted. Refreshments will be served after the meeting.