Makah Indians And Whaling Essay Research Paper

Makah Indians And Whaling Essay, Research Paper

The Makah Indian Whaling: Indigenous Right or

Environmental Injustice

by xxxxx

Abstract

For hundreds of centuries, the Makah Indians have

revolved their culture and traditions around whaling. It

has been part of their tradition as long as the tribe has

ever existed. In the early part of this century the Makah

voluntarily abandoned the whale hunt in recognition of the

precarious situation of the gray whale. When the whale

was listed as an endangered species in 1969 the hunt was

officially banned. The Makah were formally forced to give

up whaling. After seventy years, however, the Makah are

once again in a position to whale. They wish to do so on

the basis of the importance of whaling to their traditional culture. This wish, however, is highly controversial. It is has stirred up much dissent among numerous groups including the International Whaling Commission, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and numerous animal rights groups. Even the Makah themselves are not fully united on this issue of whaling. This paper examines the importance of the whale hunt to Makah culture and discusses the changing nature of tradition. The question is presented as to whether the Makah are reestablishing tradition or simply pursuing a viable commercial opportunity.

Introduction

The Makah Indians are indigenous to what is now

Washington State. Their population is small; only about

two thousand people are on the tribal rolls (The

Economist, 1998). Their traditional culture, like all

indigenous groups, was completely toppled by the arrival

and eventual dominance of non-Native, European groups to

this continent during the fifteenth and sixteenth

centuries. Makah tradition included, as one of its core

components, many of the same hunting and gathering

practices employed by other indigenous peoples. Much of

their livelihood and material culture was based on their

extensive whale hunting activities. In 1928, recognizing

the precarious status of the whale population the Makah

voluntarily abandoned their tribal tradition and gave up

whale hunting (Russell, 1999). In 1969, however, the

whale hunt was officially taken from the Makah with its

placement on the endangered species list (Blow, 1998).

Without the whale hunt the Makah became even more

distanced from their traditional culture. It was a

distance which they both resented and sought to change.

It was a distance which environmentalist justified on the

basis of the endangered status of the whale. One of the

most adamant opponents of restored whaling is the Sea

Shepherd Society, a 45,000 member organization whose efforts to protect the whale sometimes border on terroristic (Strohm, 1999; The Economist, 1998).

The High North Alliance is also another vociferous

opponent to restored Makah whaling (High North). They

maintain an extensive web site on the subject which

contrasts tradition and what they consider greed. This

clash between the Makah view and the environmentalist

views are prominent.

The Literature

Much has been written in recent years regarding

indigenous rights and the Makah whale hunt in particular.

The popular literature is replete with the subject, as is

the environmental literature. A quick search on the

Internet reveals numerous hits as well for web pages which

are devoted to either the cultural plight of the Makah or

the plight of the whale. This paper will concentrate on

the material presented in the environmental literature and

on the material presented on the World Wide Web.

With the removal of the gray whale from the

endangered species list in 1994, whale hunting is once

again a possibility in Makah culture. It is, however, a

possibility which is greatly resented and contested by

environmentalists (Russell, 1999). Despite the protest of these environmentalists and the fact that the International

Whaling Commission has yet to recognize the indigenous

cultural rights of the Makah to the whale hunt, the

Clinton administration granted permission for the Makah to

resume their traditional whale hunting activities (Strohm,

1999). This permission was granted despite the protest

from a number of interest groups. Even the Makah are not

completely united on the issue of whaling (Russell, 1999).

Several of their tribal members have, in fact, been quite

outspoken against resuming whale hunting. One of the most

adamant opponents to whaling who also happens to be Makah

herself is seventy-four year old Alberta Thompson.

Thompson has adamantly defended the whales and spoken out

against hunting (Russell, 1999). She states:

“My dream is that I wake up one morning and

the Tribal Council has called a conference to

make a statement: we now realize that the wh

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