[PEN-L:310] Re: Re: Inuit and ecology

["James Michael Craven" <cravjm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Comment:

"Give Aways" and "Potlatch" including with other Tribes and Nations
are a very Indian thing to do. Secondly, there is the matter of
Treaty Rights and defending them as virtually every single Treaty
that has been signed and ratified or not-ratified  has been broken by
non-Indians while Indians were expected to live up to the letter and
spirit of the Treaties summarily broken and abrogated.

It is only a PR disaster if Indians give a damn what a bunch of
self-appointed/righteous white,  middle-class,  granola-eating environmentalists think or
 say--which most don't. As for waste, if the carcas sinks to the bottom  or rots,
that is certainly not the intended use of that carcas; as for waste,
the non-Indian world reigns supreme in that department.

All forms of life feed on and utilize other forms of life; that is
the natural order of things. If there is waste of the products of a hunt, that
was something imported into the Indian world as every Indian Nation I
know of has ceremonies to praise/thank the animal that gave up its
life so that the People could eat and to ensure that everything taken
is used.

How many of those so concerned about the Whale Hunt will have a steak
tonight? What, cows and steers don't matter? How about rats? Are any
of these people calling for the "liberation" of all rats held in
research facilities?  I am starting to wonder if David Harvey was right when he suggested
 some natural alliances between the simplistic week-end-hobby  Greens and ultra-right and
neo-fascist elements that use the concerns of the Greens for their own nefarious purposes.

Jim Craven



On 28 Jul 98 at 13:45, Rosser Jr, John Barkley wrote:

>      Well, I read that meat was distributed to other
> villages beyond where the whale was actually brought in.
> This is the second such hunt, the first one being a PR
> disaster as the whale sank to the bottom before it could be
> brought out, and the carcass had rotted before it was.
>      In any case, the justification for this has been
> entirely on "cultural" grounds.
> Barkley Rosser
> On Tue, 28 Jul 1998 13:52:20 -0400 (EDT) "Frances Bolton
> (PHI)" <fbolton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >
> > I read an account of the whale hunt in today's morning paper. I don't know
> > how accurate the account was, but it sounded like the hunt was a cultural
> > experience, as opposed to hunting for food or to make oil (or whatever
> > whales have been used for.) The article said that the Inuits each ate some
> > of the meat, and then fed the rest to their dogs. That makes the hunt seem
> > like sport. It also said that they had stopped hunting over fifty years
> > ago, not because they were prevented from it, but rather because there was
> > no longer any need to do it, and the market for whale products had dried
> > up.
> >
> > Assuming this account is true, it would be difficult for me to support the
> > hunt. While I do support the right to self-determination, and appreciate
> > the importance of cultural integrity, I don't think I accept the argument
> > that whale hunts are to the lives of the people of Baffin Island. The fact
> > that they voluntarily gave up hunting seems to suggest otherwise.
> >
> > If someone on the list knows that the hunts are indeed necessarily, and
> > the whale carcass was actually used, I'd appreciate hearing that.
> >
> > Frances
> >
> >  On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, Rosser Jr, John Barkley wrote:
> >
> > >      Am wondering what folks think about the recent Inuit
> > > bowhead whale hunt up by Baffin Island.  I find myself
> > > having very mixed feelings, sympathetic with the
> > > sovereignty and cultural claims of the Inuit, but also
> > > concerned that this is the opening wedge in ending
> > > restrictions on whaling worldwide.
> > >      In northern Wisconsin opposition to tribal fishing
> > > rights has clearly been very racist.  But then the fishing
> > > of muskies and other fish by the Chippewa/Ojibwe and
> > > Potawotami has not been of any endangered species.  It is
> > > white-owned commercial tourist interests who are affected.
> > > Barkley Rosser
> > >
> > > --
> > > Rosser Jr, John Barkley
> > > rosserjb@xxxxxxx
> > >
> > >
> >
>
> --
> Rosser Jr, John Barkley
> rosserjb@xxxxxxx
>
>

 James Craven
 Dept. of Economics,Clark College
 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663
 jcraven@xxxxxxxxx; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863
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