#teamorca gains First Nations support in North America
CBC
Killer whale behaviour off the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, where pods have been ramming boats, have inspired some on social media to "orca-nize" discussions on animal rights and environmental protection as well as create art.
In May, a pod of orcas repeatedly rammed a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar, damaging it enough to require Spanish rescuers to come to the aid of its four crew members. It was the 24th such incident registered this year by Spain's Maritime Rescue service.
For Hawli Pichette, a Mushkego Cree visual artist from Treaty 9 territory, the behaviour inspired her to create a piece dedicated to the killer whale.
"I'm definitely siding with the whales on this one and I think many people are finding more than just humour in the situation," Pichette said.
"It's such a powerful visual to see an intelligent species like orca whales collaborating and continually perfecting their strategy, whatever their reasons are."
Pichette said people should be humbled by the reminder that nature can fight back.
"We need to respect territories we share, whether it's land or water, because we aren't as far up on the food chain as we like to think as a species," Pichette said.
Social media content creator Birdie Sam, who is Eagle Killer Whale clan from Tlingit Nation, has a large following on TikTok. They are using the hashtag #teamorca on their social media and merchandise.
"It's bringing together a lot of portions of the internet that typically have a lot of things to argue about when it comes to capitalism," said Sam.
They said the killer whale is displaying "completely rational behaviour."
"They want to make their water safe," Sam said.
Sweetwater Nannauck, of the Tsimshian Nation, is a knowledge keeper and activist in Seattle who started Idle No More Washington.
She said teachings about her clan, the Killer Whale, showed her whales remember people — and how they were treated by them — for generations.
"The old Tlingit believes that the keet [killer whale] really heard and understood the talk of humans," she said.