Ridgway Mayor John Clark and Melanie Schambach look on as Diron Montgomery hugs Robyn Cascade of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness and gives her a blanket from the Lummi Nation totem carvers, painters and caretakers. Montgomery and Schambach, a mural facilitator, are part of the Red Road to DC totem pole journey.

Behind them is a 22-foot-long, 5,000 pound totem, created by the House of Tears carvers of the Lummi Nation, which is on a journey from Washington state to the Smithsonian’s National...