LUMMI, Wash. – The Lummi Indian Nation will deliver two healing poles and a
connecting crossbeam to the Pentagon to help families there continue to
heal from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Lummi previously took healing poles to New York City and Shanksville, Pa.,
two other cities where terrorism victims died. The latest healing pole
journey leaves Semiahmah – an ancestral home of the Lummi – on Sept. 1.

There is a lot of symbolism in the pole and in its making – symbolism of
the universality of grief and the ability people have to help each other
heal.

Semiahmah is where a burial site, containing the remains of Lummi
ancestors, was desecrated. The recovery of remains continues.

Ten Catholic and Protestant children from Northern Ireland visited Lummi
Master Carver Jewell James’ home in July where they worked together peeling
bark from the crossbeam so the cedar could be carved.

Abraham Scott whose wife Janice was killed when hijackers crashed American
Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, also spent time carving one of the
poles.

One pole is titled “Freedom” and has a male bear and Grandfather Sun on it.
The other, “Liberty” has a mother bear and a turtle on it – recognition of
Turtle Island, the eastern American Indian name for North America. The
crossbeam is titled “Sovereignty” because, James said, “freedom and liberty
are the foundation of sovereignty.”

An eagle depicted on the crossbeam has two wings with seven feathers each,
representing Flight 77.

The poles are 13 feet tall and will stand 13 feet apart in recognition of
the 13 original American colonies. Colors used in the healing poles are
black, red, white and yellow, representing the four human races.

The poles will be at the Pentagon for four days and will then be placed at
the Congressional Cemetery for one year. The cemetery, a portion of which
is set aside for members of Congress, is also the final resting place of 35
prominent American Indians.

One prominent American Indian interred there is Choctaw Chief
Push-Ma-Ta-Ha. The Choctaw and Iroquois Confederacy is credited by Congress
as having provided the model for the U.S. Constitution.

In 2005, the poles will be permanently placed on Kingman Island in
Washington, D.C.; the island will be renamed Memorial Island.

The pain of loss – and the importance of helping each other heal – is not
lost on James; he had a son and daughter who were killed by drunken drivers
in separate incidents.

James was deep in grief for a long time – so deep he neglected another
daughter. His wife helped him see how his grief was starting to be
destructive.

Others have joined James and the House of Tears Carvers on the healing pole
project. On this particular day, Sara London, 13, of Ferndale is painting
finished parts of a pole. Another young girl came to help. Five others are
carving and painting.

Fred Simpson, Tlingit, shared why carving is important to him. “It’s real
sacred,” he said. “It does me good. I know I’m helping someone heal.”

James said carvers began working on the poles on April 15. As of Aug. 14,
2,400 hours of carving and 1,600 volunteer hours had been tallied.

Next, James and the House of Tears Carvers will carve healing poles for
Israel and for the International Peace Center in Dublin, Ireland.

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash.
Contact him at irishmex2000@yahoo.com.