The species Orcinus orca has gone by many names – orca, killer whale, kéet, ska'ana, qalʼqaləx̌ič - and has had many different relationships with humans over the years. The native peoples of the Pacific Northwest depended on the local ecosystem for survival and their cultures valued that interdependence. They lived in respect of orcas for several thousand years. The Western motivation of industry degraded the local ecosystem and only valued orcas for profit. Western research of killer whales, which is relatively new, is inextricably tangled with the history of the exploitation of the region. This area is home to an endangered population of orcas called the Southern Residents that have been especially impacted. Research was an answer to that abuse and one of the best ways we have of correcting it.