[PEN-L:320] Re: The Makah

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

The Makah Indian Tribe and Whaling: A Fact Sheet Issued by the Makah
Whaling Commission

July 21, 1998

1. When does the Makah Tribe intend to conduct a whale hunt?

We have been planning a whale hunt for the past four years. We are now in
the final stages of preparation and plan to conduct the hunt beginning in
October or November of 1998.

2. Why does the Tribe want to do this?

Whaling has been a tradition of the Makah for over 2000 years. We had to
stop in the 1920's due to the scarcity of gray whales. Their all-time
abundance now makes it possible to resume the hunt. There has been an
intensification of interest in our own history and culture since the
archeological dig at our village of Ozette in 1970, which uncovered
thousands of artifacts bearing witness to our whaling tradition. Many Makah
feel that our health problems result, in some degree, to the loss of our
traditional diet of seafood and sea mammal meat. We would like to restore
the meat of the whale to our diet. Many of us also believe that the
problems besetting our young people stem from lack of discipline and pride.
We believe that the restoration of whaling will help to restore that
discipline and pride.

3. How many whales will the Makahs take?

We are legally permitted to take up to five whales per year, but the Makah
gray whale management plan limits the number of landed whales over a five
year period to 20 -- or an average of four per year. The management plan
permits whaling only if there is an unmet traditional subsistence or
cultural need for the whale in the community. So it is possible that as
little as one whale per year will suffice.

4. What species will be hunted?

Only the eastern Pacific or California gray whale will be hunted.

5. Does the level of Makah whaling proposed pose any conservation threat to
this species?

Absolutely not. Whale scientists have closely observed the species for many
years and in 1993 determined that the gray whale population had exceeded
the numbers existing before industrial whaling on this species began. In
1994 the gray whale was removed from the endangered species list. The most
recent population estimate, (1996) was 22,263 whales. The population
continues to increase at a rate of about 2.5 percent per year; despite
continuous harvesting of about 165 gray whales a year by Russian aborigines
-- the Chukotki, for the last 30 or 40 years.

6. What gives the Makahs a legal right to hunt whales?

Under the treaty made by the United States with Makahs in 1855, the United
States promised to secure to the Makahs the right to engage in whaling.
This is the only treaty ever made by the United States which contains such
a guaranty. The treaty which was ratified by the United States congress in
1855, is the law of the land under the U.S. Constitution and has been
upheld by the Federal Courts and the Supreme Court. To us, the Makah Treaty
is as powerful and meaningful a document as the U.S. Constitution is to
other Americans; it is what our forefathers bequeathed to us.

7. How did a whaling clause come to be written into the treaty with Makah?

Prior to entering into negotiations with the Makah the United States
government was well aware that our people had lived around Cape Flattery
for several thousand years and that we subsisted primarily on whale, seal
and fish. They knew that we hunted whales and that we had a thriving
commerce in whale oil which made us wealthy. When the United States
territorial Governor, Isaac Stevens arrived at Neah Bay in December of
1855, he entered into three days of negotiations with our leaders. They
made it clear to him that while they were prepared to cede their lands to
the United States, they wanted guarantees of their traditional rights on
the ocean and specifically of the right to take whale. The Treaty minutes
record Governor Stevens as saying to the Makahs: "The Great Father knows
what whalers you are -- how you go far to sea to take whale. Far from
wanting to stop you, he will help you -- sending implements and barrels to
try the oil." Stevens presented the written treaty to the Makahs and
explained, through an interpreter, that the Treaty contained an express
guaranty by the United States of the right to continue to take whales. The
Treaty was then accepted by the Tribe.

8. Will the Makahs sell any of the whale meat?

Absolutely not. We will abide by federal laws which prohibit commerce in
whale meat. Our Tribal law also prohibits any sale of whale meat or whale
products, except for artifacts made by Makah carvers out of whale bone.

9. What use will the Makahs make of the whale?

The meat will be distributed to all members of the Tribe, which presently
numbers 1,800 persons. Any meat remaining will be frozen in meat lockers
for later distribution.

10. How will the Makahs hunt the whale?

We have given much thought and time to the planning of the hunt. We are
attempting to conduct it in a way that is as consistent as possible with
our traditional manner of whale hunting, but also with the requirement of
the International Whaling Commission that the killing of the whale be done
in as humane a manner as possible, and at the same time with as much safety
as possible for our crews.

We presently plan to conduct the hunt from one or two traditional seagoing
canoes, manned by crews of 8 to 9 whalers in each canoe. The canoe is 36
feet in length and is carved from a single cedar log. We plan to use both a
harpooner and a rifleman who will be stationed in the canoe. The harpooner
will use a stainless steel harpoon mounted on a wooden shaft approximately
seven feet long, connected by ropes to buoys and to the canoe. The rifleman
will fire a specially designed .50 caliber rifle simultaneously or
immediately after the harpoon is thrown.

We have been working with Dr. Allen Ingling, a veterinarian at the
University of Maryland on the use of this weapon. Dr. Ingling and
representatives of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National
Marine Mammal Laboratory have been testing the use of this rifle. It is
expected that the rifle will achieve immediate unconsciousness and death of
the whale when fired at a target area near the base of the skull. It would
be the most humane method that can be employed.

While it is true that this is not the traditional method of the Makah, it
is far more humane than the traditional Makah practice of plunging spears
into the whale to cause internal bleeding and ultimate death. That method
often resulted in prolonged and agonizing death for the whale. The rifle
merely replaces the spear and avoids unnecessary suffering.

We intend to follow the canoe with chase boats, and after the death of the
whale, Makah divers will go into the water to lash the whale?s jaws shut to
prevent it from sinking. They will also attach lines to enable the whale to
be towed back to shore. The carcass will beached at one of the Makah?s
traditional beaches and whaling family representatives will carve the
blubber and meat and distribute it in accordance with traditional Makah
practice.

11. Will the Makahs harm mother whales with calf or calves?

No. This is specifically prohibited by the Makah Whaling Management Plan.
Only adult migrating whales will be taken.

12. Aside from history and tradition, is there any cultural purpose served
by taking whales now?

Yes. Whaling and whales have remained central to Makah culture. They are in
our songs, our dances, our designs, and our basketry. Our social structure
is based on traditional whaling families. The conduct of a whale hunt
requires rituals and ceremonies which are deeply spiritual. Whale hunting
imposes a purpose and a discipline which we believe will benefit our entire
community.

13. Do all tribal members support the plan to resume whaling?

While there is overwhelming support for whaling within the Tribe, there is
some dissent. We respect the right of all Tribal members to express their
own opinions on any issue, even though some of the dissenters have been
aggressively exploited by anti-whaling groups. However, whaling is
supported by the overwhelming majority of the Tribe. In 1995 there was a
Tribal referendum on the issue and 85% of those voting favored whaling. In
the most recent Tribal election for a seat on the five member council, one
of the most vociferous opponents of whaling ran for office, but received
only 35 votes out of 360 casts. While some of our elders signed a petition
against whaling several years ago, many of them have repudiated their
position and disclaim opposition now. The Tribe is governed by a
democratically elected five-member council and the council recognizes that
whaling is the mandate of an overwhelming majority of the Tribe.

14. Are you aware that your whaling plan has aroused intense opposition
around the United States and abroad?

Yes. We are not insensitive to this. But we are also aware that much of
this opposition has been whipped up deliberately by organized groups who
have put out a blizzard of propaganda attacking us and urging the public to
oppose us. Unfortunately much of this propaganda contains misinformation,
distortion and outright falsehoods. The anti-whaling community is very well
organized and very well financed and puts out a steady stream of propaganda
designed to denigrate our culture and play on human sympathy for all
animals. Perhaps what is lost in all of their rhetoric is an appreciation
of the value of preserving the culture of an American Indian Tribe -- a
culture which has always had to struggle against the assumption by some
non-Indians that their values are superior to ours. There is no denying
that this kind of animosity has been extremely upsetting to our people.
They are simply unused to being the object of hostility and vilification by
the non-Indian world. But our opponents would have us abandon this part of
our culture and restrict it to a museum. To us this means a dead culture.
We are trying to maintain a living culture. We can only hope that those
whose opposition is most vicious will be able to recognize their
ethnocentrism ? subordinating our culture to theirs.

15. Will whaling be regulated and if so, how and by whom?

Yes, whaling will be regulated. The Makah Tribe has adopted a highly
detailed whale management plan. The plan will be carried into an agreement
with National Marine Fisheries Service and both the plan and the agreement
commit the Tribe to regulate whaling, and cooperation with the National
Marine Fisheries Service. The regulation includes the following provisions:
1. Strict reporting requirements. 2. Area restrictions designed to ensure
we take only migrating whales and not resident whales. 3. A prohibition
against the taking of suckling calves or female whales accompanied by
calves. 4. A prohibition against sale of any whale meat or products except
for traditional native handicrafts. 5. National Marine Fisheries Service
monitoring of the hunt. 6. Prosecution and punishment of any Tribal whalers
who violate Tribal regulations adopted to carry out the terms of the
memorandum of understanding with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Conclusion:

The Makah Tribe appreciates the action taken by the United States
government to secure approval of the Makah Whale Hunt by the International
Whaling Commission. We pledge our continuing efforts to cooperate with the
Federal government to insure that our hunt is carried out in a proper and
legal manner. We ask the public to remember that throughout the history of
the United States there has been a sad record of intolerance of Indian
culture. We hope that thoughtful Americans will ask themselves whether they
can and should respect the efforts of a small Tribe which is trying to
preserve its culture in ways that are consistent with conservation of
natural resources.

(From the excellent Native Americans and the Environment website at
http://conbio.rice.edu/nae/)

Louis Proyect

(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)