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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • Chapter 3: Custody Battles

    Chapter 3: Custody Battles
    Dec 2 2021
    Keiko was the orca who starred in the movie Free Willy, and he was the only long-term captive whale to ever be returned home. His rehabilitation and release were mired in politics and got a lot of bad press. Much of the momentum for the Tokitae campaign came out of the Keiko campaign, including a series of lawsuits.
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    49 mins
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  • Chapter 4: One Heart One Mind

    Chapter 4: One Heart One Mind
    Dec 9 2021
    Just when it seemed that the Tokitae campaign had exhausted every strategy, members of the Lummi Nation stepped in. They’re telling a different story about Tokitae, and they’re bringing a different set of tools to the fight.
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    34 mins
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  • Chapter 5: That’s Your Relative

    Chapter 5: That’s Your Relative
    Dec 16 2021
    In 2018 and 2019, members of the Lummi Nation carved a totem pole in Tokitae’s honor, and drove it back and forth across the United States, with a series of ceremonies along the way.
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    45 mins
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  • Chapter 6: Ancient Love Affair

    Chapter 6: Ancient Love Affair
    Dec 23 2021
    Penn Cove was once a capital city of sorts in Coast Salish civilization. But today, most of that history has been erased. There are many parallels between genocide and extinction. Maybe Tokitae holds a key to the process of repair.
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    1 hr and 14 mins
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  • Chapter 7: Field Trip to Miami

    Chapter 7: Field Trip to Miami
    Dec 30 2021
    Bonnie flies to Miami to meet Tokitae for the first time. She encounters one unexpected twist after the next. A USDA inspection report later reveals the dismal living conditions that Tokitae was experiencing during this time.
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    1 hr and 1 min
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