Five decades ago, a 4-year-old orca was captured in Penn Cove and sold to the Miami Seaquarium, where she received the name “Lolita.” She performed about twice daily until 2022, then remained at the Seaquarium until her death about a year later — despite plans to return her to the Salish Sea.
Lolita — also known as Tokitae, and named Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut by Lummi Nation — would become the oldest and last Southern Resident orca in captivity. But for the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) people, orcas aren’t just animals: They’re qwe ‘lhol mechen, meaning “our relations under the waves.” The tribe campaigned for years to return Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut to the Salish Sea.
“Resident Orca” gives an up-close, visceral account of this fight, with Lhaq’temish women at its center. Co-directed by Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Simon Schneider, the feature documentary premiered on April 6, 2024 at the Miami Film Festival. It will screen Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Pickford Film Center as part of Children of the Setting Sun’s Treaty Day Film Festival.
“[Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut] brought awareness to the plight and the hunger in her family, the plight and hunger in the Lhaq’temish Tribal communities for salmon,” said Lummi Elder Squil-le-he-le Raynell Morris, the film’s protagonist and executive producer. “What happens to qwe ‘lhol mechen, happens to us.”
Pearce said “Resident Orca” is an urgent call to action: Salmon populations are rapidly dwindling, and just 73 Southern Residents remain in the wild. Per the film’s intro, they are the only orca population in the world to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
“[‘Resident Orca’] comes as an invitation to other settlers on these lands to decolonize their relationship with nature,” Pearce said. “We’re at a critical point environmentally: We have to stop seeing the trees, the whales, the fish, as natural resources, and start seeing them as nature. And we’re a part of that.”
The making of ‘Resident Orca’
Work for “Resident Orca” began in 2019, with Pearce and Schneider traveling up and down the coast interviewing scientists, journalists and stakeholders about the last remaining Southern Resident orca in captivity. But upon connecting with Morris via Seattle Times journalist Lynda Mapes, they realized the story was “much different than they could have ever imagined.”
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut was one of roughly 50 Southern Resident orcas captured in the ‘60s and ‘70s — a trauma that mirrors a history of displacement and cultural suppression endured by Indigenous communities. Southern Residents depend on salmon as their sole source of food, whereas fishing is integral to Lhaq’temish culture, economy and identity.
Morris and Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley, a Lummi fisher and another documentary protagonist, had been advocating for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s release for years before meeting Pearce and Schneider. Morris was “very non-trusting” at the start of filming; however, she was ultimately inspired by the teachings of the late hereditary Chief Bill Tsi’li’xw James, who encouraged the tribe to share the orca’s story with the world.
“Through his guidance, I opened up and started being [microphoned] and filmed, and understood the importance of documenting her life’s journey, and documenting the work to bring her home,” Morris continued.
Flipping the norms of traditional documentary filmmaking, Pearce and Schneider took on the roles of “collaborator rather than storyteller.” Morris and Kinley are credited as executive producers; through the years, Morris continued, “We just became family.”
‘Moving at the speed of trust’
From the film’s beginning, it’s clear that Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s situation is dire. Her former tank-mate, Hugo, died in 1980 after ramming his head against his enclosure. Reports of her declining health and poor conditions at the Seaquarium raised alarm bells — but with Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut retired from performing, advocates were not able to gain access to her.
“We were making a film about a whale that was out of reach largely of the public, and certainly of filmmakers,” Pearce said. “We had to be very creative in how we were both able to tell her story, which was by speaking to the people who were closest to her, people who had past relationships with her.”
“Resident Orca” incorporates archival footage, phone videos, photographs and stunning drone videography. In addition to Kinley and Morris, the crew also interviewed orca advocates, journalists, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s former trainer and even a biologist who bore witness to her capture.
As Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s homecoming garnered media attention (and some former trainers questioned its logistics and safety), this web of stakeholders began to grow. One important character is Pritam Singh, who stepped in to fund the whale’s return in 2022. He co-founded the conservationist group Friends of Toki, which persuaded the Seaquarium’s new owners, The Dolphin Company, to permit an independent veterinary assessment.
Perhaps the most unexpected stakeholder was Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts. He swooped in at the 11th hour to fund the orca’s homecoming (and was inspired to do so after seeing “Avatar 2”).
The film includes footage of a Miami press conference where Irsay, Singh and the Dolphin Company announced an agreement for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s homecoming. Morris is also present — but her voice is sidelined.
“They were all seated in the front at the table, and I was in the front row,” she said. “… It felt like I was incapable of being able to be a good negotiator, a good steward of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut; that the partners knew better what to do and how to do it than I did.”
For Morris, the conference highlighted another key theme: “There’s always partners you have to work with — and sometimes for — to get what’s best for your people,” she continued. “It’s the same for her.”
But despite the ever-expanding cast of characters, “Resident Orca” keeps a clear-eyed focus on Morris, Kinley and the Lhaq’temish people.
“Moving at the speed of trust allowed us to witness something very profound about what Indigenous people are allowed to do, allowed to control and not allowed to control,” Pearce added. “And I can speak personally that I feel very much we need to look towards Indigenous knowledge-keepers for the path forward.”
Ringing the alarm bell
In retrospect, Pearce said the most surprising part of production was “when you spend years trying to get to know a whale that you can’t see, and then finally, one day, you have an opportunity to walk in and meet her face-to-face. There is absolutely nothing that could have prepared me for that moment.”
One of the most joyful scenes in “Resident Orca” occurs when Morris and Kinley visit Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut at the Seaquarium and sing her songs in Lhaq’temish. By this point, a sanctuary site had been identified. Funds were in place, and her return seemed certain.
These glimmers of hope underscore a gut-wrenching finale: On Aug. 18, 2023, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut died. When Morris re-watches the film, she said the impact has not lessened.
“Different parts jump out and grab you in such a kind of a PTSD,” she said. “We were right back there in that moment: what she was feeling, what I was feeling. So every screening has been different. Every screening has been very emotional.”
Morris expressed deep gratitude for Pearce and Schneider’s telling of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s story. She hopes the film engages audiences with the ongoing work necessary to steward the Salish Sea, end captivity and replenish salmon populations.
To solve these issues, Pearce said it is imperative to look to Indigenous leaders — specifically matriarchs — for guidance. She added that Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s death “rings the alarm bell”: “When we drag our feet on things that we know should happen, that we know need to be done, we are certainly in peril.”
But Pearce, Schneider and Morris believe that change is still possible. Morris noted how the Miami Seaquarium was handed an eviction notice in March 2024, with its owners attributing poor ticket sales to “negative press.” The news came just days after the announcement of “Resident Orca”’s world premiere at the Miami Film Festival.
“Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut brought people from all over the globe together with her love, with her kindness, with her forgiveness, to teach people to come together in a good way and be persistent to get the work done,” Morris continued. “She did that for us — and she continues to do that as a spirit guide.”
“Resident Orca” will screen at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Pickford Film Center as part of the International Treaty Day Film Festival. The screening will be followed by a Q&A. Info: pickfordfilmcenter.org.
Cocoa Laney is CDN’s lifestyle editor; reach her at cocoalaney@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 128.
