Tokitae

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Tokitae

Written by: Bonnie Swift
Narrated by: Bonnie Swift
Free with 30-day trial

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About this listen

 In 1970, in one of the most infamous orca round-ups in history, an orca calf named Tokitae was taken from the islands off the coast of Seattle. For more than 50 years, she has lived at the Miami Seaquarium, in North America’s smallest orca tank.

Multiple lawsuits have been brought forward to free her, all of which so far have failed.

Then, in 2017, an elder from the Lummi Nation received a message, carried from a dream. “Can anybody hear me?” Tokitae said, “I want to go home.”

To the Lummi, Tokitae is not just an animal in captivity, she is a kidnapped relative. Now, members of the Lummi Nation are taking up the fight to return Tokitae to the Salish Sea, where she was born.

But there’s a problem. Tokitae’s wild family is struggling for survival. Is it safe to bring her home, when her family here is facing extinction?

“What happens to the orcas is going to happen to us,” says Jay Julius, the former Chairman of the Lummi Nation. “And what happens to the Indians is going to happen to everyone else.”

Bonnie Swift grew up on Penn Cove, hearing the story of Tokitae’s capture, and as a child sang songs at protest events on Tokitae’s behalf. Now, in her thirties, Bonnie's come back to Tokitae. This is a story about killer whales, capture teams, Free Willy, the failures of environmental law, the extinction crisis, indigenous rights, grief, spirituality, and, most of all, the promise of repair.

©2021 Bonnie Swift Productions, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC Biological Sciences Outdoors & Nature Science
Episodes
  • Trailer

    Trailer
    Nov 4 2021
    In 1970, in one of the most infamous orca round-ups in history, an orca calf named Tokitae was taken from the islands off the coast of Seattle. For more than 50 years, she has lived at the Miami Seaquarium, in North America’s smallest orca tank.

    Multiple lawsuits have been brought forward to free her, all of which so far have failed.

    Then, in 2017, an elder from the Lummi Nation received a message, carried from a dream. “Can anybody hear me?” Tokitae said, “I want to go home.”

    To the Lummi, Tokitae is not just an animal in captivity, she is a kidnapped relative. Now, members of the Lummi Nation are taking up the fight to return Tokitae to the Salish Sea, where she was born.

    But there’s a problem. Tokitae’s wild family is struggling for survival. Is it safe to bring her home, when her family here is facing extinction?

    “What happens to the orcas is going to happen to us,” says Jay Julius, the former Chairman of the Lummi Nation. “And what happens to the Indians is going to happen to everyone else.”

    Bonnie Swift grew up on Penn Cove, hearing the story of Tokitae’s capture, and as a child sang songs at protest events on Tokitae’s behalf. Now, in her thirties, Bonnie's come back to Tokitae. This is a story about killer whales, capture teams, Free Willy, the failures of environmental law, the extinction crisis, indigenous rights, grief, spirituality, and, most of all, the promise of repair.
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    2 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Chapter 1: How to Capture a Whale

    Chapter 1: How to Capture a Whale
    Nov 18 2021
    Tokitae’s capture in 1970 was one of the most infamous orca round-ups in history. Seven calves were taken, and five whales drowned. The public outcry following this capture helped put an end to the capture era in Washington State. Of those seven calves who were taken, Tokitae is the last survivor.
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    58 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Chapter 2: Superpod

    Chapter 2: Superpod
    Nov 25 2021
    Tokitae’s extended family, the southern resident killer whales, have lived in the Salish Sea for at least 700,000 years. Likely longer. They are highly sentient beings, with large, wrinkly brains, x-ray vision, languages, cultures, and they live in matriarchal family units called pods. They are also on the brink of extinction.
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    50 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
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