SpokaneFāVS
Spokanites will have an opportunity to stand with First Nations and non-Native communities being impacted by the various energy development projects throughout the U.S. and Canada when the Lummi Totem Pole Journey makes its way to The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Aug. 26.
Bishop James Waggoner, of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, and Bishop Martin Wells of the Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod (ELCA) are two of 10 church leaders in Washington State to sign a “Public Declaration” to the Tribal Councils and traditional spiritual leaders of the native peoples of the Northwest to stand with them in defense of their sacred lands and fishing rights, according to a news release.
Lummi Elder and Master Carver Jewell James has spent this past summer carving a Totem Pole for First Nations in Alberta, Canada, and the Totem Pole Journey crew will be leaving Bellingham, and journeying to Yankton, S.D, Billings, Mont., Spokane and Seattle, and then from Vancouver, B.C. across Canada to Alberta where the totem pole will be erected near the tar sands.
Wells and Waggoner will present the church leaders letter of support when the totem pole arrives in Spokane.
The Aug. 26 event will be held at 11 a.m. and will feature speakers, blessings, refreshments, and time to experience the totem pole at the parking area and lawn at the corner of E. 13th Avenue and S. Cowley Street (between the Diocesan offices and the Cathedral).
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
