The Red Road to DC: A Totem Pole Journey for the Protection of Sacred Places, traveled thousands of miles with a 25-ft, 5000 pound totem pole, visiting dozens of Indigenous sacred places at risk from dams, mining, and oil and gas drilling--from the Snake River to the Missouri River, Bears Ears to the Black Hills, Chaco Canyon to the Grand Canyon, and tribal treaty lands and waters impacted by the Dakota Access, Line 3, and Line 5 pipelines.

The Red Road to DC journey drew to a close Thursday, July 29th, when Lummi carvers delivered the pole, along with the prayers and power of the thousands of people who have visited with it to the symbolic heart of the nation.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland joined the live-streamed ceremony on the National Mall in front of the Capital, followed by a rally featuring tribal leaders, Native grassroots organizers, and members of Congress. The following day the totem pole was displayed outside the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, where an exhibition about the totem pole journey can be found inside.

UPDATES FROM THE ROAD:

Standing Rock.  Read here.

UPDATES FROM THE ROAD:

Chaco Canyon.  Read here.

UPDATES FROM THE ROAD:

Snake River Blessing Ceremony.  View here.

Our cross-country journey with Lummi carvers and a 25-ft, 5000 pound totem pole has begun!

Yesterday was a good day, on traditional Nimiipuu territory—the first stop on the #RedRoadtoDC.

The salmon, central to Nimiipuu culture, are facing an extinction crisis due to aging dams and warming waters. Native grassroots organizers, elders, and Nez Perce tribal leaders called for the removal of the Snake River dams at this moving totem pole journey event organized by Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia & Snake Rivers and their tributaries, once the greatest salmon rivers in the world. We can do this by removing four outdated and expensive dams on the lower Snake River. For too long these four dams have impeded the rights of Nez Perce and other Northwest First Peoples to exercise Traditional Fishing Treaty Rights. The federal government promised the Nez Perce People the right to hunt and fish in their usual and accustomed places as part of the 1855 Treaty. The promise was broken. It’s time to right this wrong.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to restore the salmon and remove the Snake River dams

Soon after the event, our caravan hit the road for our next stop, Bears Ears. But there’s always a bit of time for an impromptu jump in the river along the way.

This is the Red Road to DC: a touring series of ceremonies, public events, media projects, and advocacy campaigns, co-produced by ITP Grant Partner The Natural History Museum, Native Organizers Alliance, Se'Si'Le, and the House of Tears Carvers--culminating in a rally on the National Mall and an exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

From the Salish Sea to the Snake River, Chaco Canyon to the Black Hills, Anishnaabe lands in Minnesota to Standing Rock in South Dakota, the totem pole carries the spirit of the lands it visits, and the power and prayers of those who encounter it. The journey draws lines of connection—honoring and uniting the Native Nations and communities leading struggles to protect sacred places—and it also draws a line against an understanding of development that is pushing the world toward extinction.