Treaty Day event features ‘Resident Orca,’ acclaimed film about effort to free Tokitae
This year’s Treaty Day Film Festival offers the first local chance to see “Resident Orca,” the documentary that follows the effort to free Tokitae, the killer whale that was captured off Whidbey Island and forced to perform as Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium.
“This story shares the shocking truth of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. Lolita was captured 53 years ago as a child, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North America. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: is it too late to save her?” the Children of the Setting Productions wrote on Instagram.
Treaty Day is Wednesday, Jan. 22. Children of the Setting Sun is partnering with the Pickford Film Center for this year’s Treaty Day Film Festival, with showings on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Also featured is an opening blessing and five short films from Children of the Setting Sun, a nonprofit Indigenous-led multimedia storytelling company. Those films include “Basket Lady,” “Sleeping Bear,” and “Story Pole.”
But the highlight is “Resident Orca,” which most recently won best director at the Whistler Film Festival.
Much of the filming was at Lummi Nation, Bellingham and the Salish Sea.
Treaty Day marks the Jan. 22, 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott between between the U.S. government and Indigenous tribes of the Puget Sound region. It guaranteed fishing rights and designated lands, called reservations.
It is becoming more widely recognized as an important event in Washington, and the Ferndale and Bellingham school districts have canceled classes for its observance.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 9:18 AM.
