Whale Naming Ceremony Carries Special Meaning For Samish Tribe

Wednesday, October 5, 2005
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — The Samish Tribe welcomed a new member Saturday with prayers, songs, drums and other traditions during a naming ceremony, much like that performed for babies.

However, on this occasion, the honorees were a 9-month-old orca whale, the third surviving calf of a female known as Samish n and anthropologist Dr. Wayne Suttles.

"It is a very important day to share for all of us, to welcome this youngster, this new addition to the Samish people and the surrounding community, this gift," said Bill Bailey, a Swinomish tribal member who acted as spokesman for the ceremony.

The audience gasped when Bailey said that the orca Samish and her older calves, Riptide and Hy'shqa, now swim with "Suttles."

"Suttles is the name," he said. "Suttles is here with us. Suttles is a very important part of the Samish people... a big part of who we are, what we want to accomplish, what we hold dear."

Bailey said that some of the tribe's members belong to the Orca Clan.

A traditional ceremony used for naming children was adapted for the occasion. Since Suttles was unable to attend, Joyce Underwood held up a photo of the calf, then placed it in on blankets like a baby. The ceremony was followed by a potlatch and lunch. Orcas were very important in spiritual teachings. The tribe never killed the animal they called black fish, which they saw as relatives.

Dr. Wayne Suttles was a noted anthropologist and linguist whose research and testimony helped the Samish Tribe win back federal recognition after many years of court battles. A Friday Harbor resident, Suttles died earlier this year at 87.

"There can't be a better way to honor Dr. Suttles," Bailey said, characterizing the scientist as a giving, honorable, sharing person.

"This is something you can't measure," he said.

Several members of the Suttles family attended or participated in the ceremony. Malcolm Suttles, son of the anthropologist, acted as one of four witnesses to the day's work. Other witnesses were Victor Underwood, Don Peterson and Anacortes Mayor Dean Maxwell.

"I don't think there's anything that could have been done to honor my husband that would please him more. I think it's the most wonderful tribute," said Shirley Suttles. "I love this area of the world and I love the orcas, and he did too."

Richard Osborne, director of the Whale Museum at Friday Harbor, said he and staff members were honored to attend the event.

"I feel like I'm at a nexus here, between the first people of the sea and the first people of the land," he said.

He added that there is much to learn from whales.

"They are so much like ourselves. They have the same length of time on earth as we do," he said.

Osborne traced the calf's family history: Its mother, Samish, also known as J-14, was the daughter of Sissy, now dead. The calf's great-grandmother Granny, J-2, is the oldest living member of the Southern resident J Pod, at an estimated age of 90.

"It is her clan, her matriline that we are honoring today," Osborne said.

Samish's firstborn, like many first calves, died. Osborne said that female whales accumulate toxins from pollution in their bodies, and first calves seem to be the ones that suffer from it.

The calf, Suttles, also known as J-40, was born in December of 2004. Its eldest brother, Riptide, is 9 and sibling Hy'shqa, still an unknown gender, is 4.

The Samish Tribe has taken an interest in the orca the bears its name and her progeny. When Hy'shqa was born, the tribe's cultural resource director Jan Flagg asked the Whale Museum for permission to name the calf. The name means "thank you" or "blessing" in Coast Salish.

Source: The Anacortes American