before Luna had appeared, a tribal chief named Albert Maquinna had passed away, and Maquinna had told friends and relatives beforehand that he planned to return to the tribe as a kakawin, a killer whale. Orcas are not particularly common inside the Sound, so Luna’s appearance was taken as a certain sign that the chief had lived up to his word. The tribe by treaty right had some say in the matter. They approved of the plan to reunite Luna with his home pod and made clear that they would fight to prevent the whale from ever being placed in captivity.
Chief promised to return as orca
Tribe believed this was luna
