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Sister Kathy reflects on sacred ceremony, 'united under a common vision of restoring life, of waters finally flowing freely'

 

by Sister Kathy Roberg

“What shimmers in you?” – a word I heard in a recent Zoom meeting. This “shimmering” resonates in you – your depth, when you fully enter in to an experience and let your soul be touched.

I went to “the Feast” a gathering here in Spokane with our beautiful brothers and sisters from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to enter in, connect with stories and food and bless the Totem, honoring their victory in removing the Elwha Dam, thus helping to restore health to life and to Mother Earth.

Stories were shared of inner strength and power, overcoming a life threatening circumstance, of events that gathered the diversity of humanity – all united under a common vision of restoring life, of waters finally flowing freely, attracting wildlife, especially the salmon runs. These were examples of strong shimmers resonating in me of the power within people who unite for goodness.

All life is crying out in pain, brokenness, dis-ease, aching to be healed. Humanity writhes with arms outstretched, Mother Nature cries out for attention, communities are yearning for peace.  A gathering as this, a blessing, was a graced moment for me, a Franciscan Sister, where connectedness, and relationships joined hands and hearts for hoping to better this world. These are shimmers of hope and new life that reach down into my own rootedness and belief that life is stronger than death, and cannot be conquered by darkness. These are rays of HOPE.


About
The Totem Pole Blessing was sponsored and shared by the Elwha Klallam Tribe who worked toward taking down the dam on the Elwha RIver near the Olympic Peninsula south of Seattle so the salmon could begin to swim freely (and it is happening).  The destruction of the small dam was done in 2014. Tribal members carried their Totem Pole ( a large salmon lying down on the back of a truck) recognizing this beautiful event and at the end we signed a poster and blessed the totem. 

This was part of The Way of the Masks 2025 campaign, uplifting Indigenous rights, river and salmon restoration, forest protection and climate resilience across the Northwest. The Elwha River's restoration is one of the most powerful acts of justice and healing in our time. The totem pole journey calls us into ceremony and solidarity, showing that the health of the waters, lands, salmon and people are all connected.  

Learn More
Read or listen: Totem pole journey urges opposition to Roadless Rule rescission, KNKX NPR

 



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