Warrior Pamela Foster Testimony prayer beads, typed word for word, wrapped with the Ashlynne Mike Amber Alert in Indian Country Law and rolled into prayer beads.

“Her family was willing to turn their personal tragedy into a cause to protect Native American and Alaskan Native children across the country,” said Walters. “As Pamela said on more than one occasion, ‘We want to do this so other families will be spared our pain.’”

Ashlynne's Law Resources

Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (1966- 2023)

Black vintage dress, vintage slip, black paint, hand typed beads, ball chain, glass beads, vintage ribbon,abalone shells.

The Song her Mother Taught Her

Once called Lolita, then called Tokitae, and now given the Lummi name Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, she was violently taken from L-pod in 1970, and has been held at Miami Seaquarium ever since. In 2017, She still sings the L-pod family song her mother taught her when she was a baby (A recording of her singing this song was made at her Miami Seaquarium tank in the early 1990s. It has been identified by at least two experts as being the L-pod song). Lummi Nation passed a Motion to bring her home; in 2018, Lummi held a press conference in Miami to this effect, and later embarked on a Totem Pole Journey for Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut. In 2019, two individual Lummi women invoked the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and announced their intent to sue Miami Seaquarium if the Seaquarium would not agree to collaboratively work out a plan to safely bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut back home to her family in the Salish Sea. The Earth Law Center is now legal representation for the repatriation effort. The Whale Sanctuary Project is drafting a comprehensive operational plan, grounded in and guided by Lummi ancestral wisdom as well as science, to safely bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut home.

A sculptural piece reclaimed from a vintage megaphone covered in prayer bead strips made from the pages of the stories of women survivors. Beads made from report, white buckskin, glue, jingles, green glass beads

These courageous women were gathered together by the Grandma’s of Ogitchidakwe Council, Creating a Circle of Safety & were given a space to learn ceremonial ways of healing as well as a place to share their personal stories. Tara Trudell also made handmade prayer beads that are wrapped in buckskin strips with jingles to address the need for more awareness and action to uplift their stories and honor their words. The stories are triggering and by honoring the women who represent these paths, we can continue this circle of safety teachings within all our communities. Tara prays and offers collective healing energy in the process for the survivors, the families, the communities, and the ancestors' spirits.

Hand rolled paper beads from report, crystal beads, wire, juniper berry beads,kota, juniper, lavender sprigs, abalone, “Vintage Burlap Fertilizer Sack Dress Costume Pocahontas”/Ebay

This important report Violence Against Native Women Is Not Traditional importantly reminds and teaches us to remember that violence against women and all forms of domestic violence are not traditional within Native communities and cultures. Ending the violence experienced by Indigenous women in the United States requires an acknowledgement of colonization and genocide as root causes.