Qumni Kaltcuik: Whale - Its Spirit

This is a small sculpture garden overlooking the ocean just south of our hotel. LARGE

Artist and poet Lon Brusselback created this sculpture as a tribute to the rich legacy of the whales that migrate just off shore here at Nye Beach which have been part of life here for centuries, but are now endangered.

The sculpture consists of whale bones, some set at sharp perpendicular angles and others lying along the ground set amid the sand and dune grass that seems to be their natural resting place.

There are two stones with engraved inscriptions on them, one from the Siletz Indians who inhabited these shores, and one from a marine biologist at Oregon State University. (From waymarking.com)

It was remarkable to run my hand along a whale's rib bone and think about the history of these amazing ancient animals. And then to consider what humans have done to decimate them in such a relatively short period of time. I sometimes feel like my heart will break when I think of all we have destroyed in our quest to tame, to acquire, to be comfortable, to "progress." (And I think of those who are today racing to stores all over the U.S. hoping for a bargain, pushing through traffic and crowds, using valuable resources -- for what? to acquire more crap. Talk about a cycle of abuse.)

The ways in which native people used whales was sustainable and respectful. The other stone at the sculpture garden has this etched on it:

Whales have been here
forever. Their flesh has fed the
people and been the occasion
for celebration and feasting.
Their bones have been made
into tools and objects of status
and ceremonial importance.
The sighting of a whale still
thrills all who see it.
May it always be so!
Robert Keatta
Cultural Resources Director
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians


Today is gray and wet. We did manage a walk/scoot this morning and returned just as the rain started, that felt lucky! There's a perfect covered hidey-hole for my scooter right by the elevator, with an outlet to charge it up, it's a good situation.

We've had good naps.

Slideshow of more beachy shots.