BY LIEFF GUTTHIUDASCHMITT
NEAH BAY, Washington - Native American peoples and
supporters of indigenous rights all over the world celebrated
the victory of the Makah Nation in their successful hunt of a
gray whale here on May 17. Nine months ago the Makah decided
to reinitiate the whale hunt as part of the fight to keep
their culture alive and instill pride among their youth. For
the past nine months, the tribe defended themselves against
efforts by some environmental and animal rights groups, such
as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, to physically
prevent them from carrying out their hunt. The whale hunt has
become a symbol of the Makahs' fight against the anti-Native
propaganda pushed by these groups and open racism on the part
of rightists.
The controversy surrounding the Makah whale hunt is an important manifestation of the cultural war led by rightist forces against the oppressed, which aims to reverse gains they have won through decades of struggle and to divide and weaken the working class as a whole. Rightists seek to foster resentment of the gains won by the oppressed portraying them as a threat to the jobs and rights of other workers. Makah leaders have received death threats, and anti-whaling protesters have invited people to "Save a whale, harpoon a Makah."
The May 23 issue of the Seattle Times-Post Intelligencer carried some letters that demonstrate the blatant racism behind the attacks on their treaty rights. "These people want to rekindle their traditional way of life by killing an animal that has probably twice the mental capacity they have," read one letter. "These idiots need to use what little brains they have to do something productive besides getting drunk and spending federal funds to live on."
Another reader wrote, "They are a modernized welfare race. I personally hate the Makah Tribe. I hope and pray for a terrible end to the Makah Tribe, very slow and painful."
Similar anti-Native opinions were expressed in Canada, particularly in British Columbia where tribes related to the Makah have also insisted on their right to hunt whales. Tom Happynook, treaty negotiator for one of these tribes on Vancouver Island, the Huu-ay-aht, told the media that indigenous groups like his own should be able to resume their traditional lifestyle of sustainable whaling.
Provincial premier Glen Clark of the New Democratic Party declared he would not support any aboriginal treaty that included whaling rights. It is the federal government in Canada, however, that has jurisdiction over whaling. It imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1972, but recognized in 1996 the right of Inuit to hunt one bowhead whale, a species whose population had fallen from 10,000 in 1990 to about 700 in 1996.
Here in Neah Bay, Makah hunters paddled a hand-hewn cedar canoe and used three harpoons and two high-caliber rifle shots to kill the first gray whale the tribe has hunted since the 1920s, when they voluntarily discontinued hunting due to the depletion of stocks caused by commercial whaling. The gray whale population is currently at an all-time high of around 22,000. In 1994 it was removed from the endangered species list.
The day that the Makahs killed the whale, children abandoned their classrooms and adults their jobs to join the celebration. "I'm proud. I'm proud of the group that did this. This is one for the Makahs," said Joe Jimmicum, a tribal member who waited to help get the whale on the beach, summing up the mood of many in the community.
Native American tribes from around the Northwest sent representatives to Neah Bay to celebrate along with the Makahs. As the news spread, indigenous peoples from around the world expressed their support for the whale hunt and the Makahs.
On May 22 more than 1,000 people gathered on the Makah reservation to celebrate the whale hunt. The Makahs were joined by Native peoples from all over the West Coast, the Plains, Alaska, Canada, Fiji, and Africa. Makah Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson said, "The whale hunt brought us all together. I'm happy, overwhelmed to see this many native people together."
The Makahs point out this is a victory because they stood strong in affirming the right to hunt whales, a right that is guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855 with the U.S. government. It is a victory that has encouraged other Native peoples to fight for their own treaty rights.
In a statement called the "Makah Manifesto," Keith Johnson, president of the Makah Whaling Commission, explained, "Our forefathers bequeathed our right to whale to us in our treaty and we feel that a treaty right which cannot be exercised is no right."
In explaining why the Makahs want to conduct the whale hunt, Johnson wrote, "Whaling has been part of our tradition for more than 2,000 years. We...believe that the problems that are troubling our young people stem from lack of discipline and pride and we hope that the restoration of whaling will help to restore that. We also want to...restore a part of our culture that was taken from us."
Unemployment on the Makah reservation is as high as 75 percent for much of the year. Most of the housing for the 2,000 residents consists of trailers and small houses. It is in this context that the Makahs are fighting for their culture and their traditions.
The Makah can legally kill up to 20 whales through 2002. Rather than more tribal hunts, individual families are expected to begin hunting the gray whales in Neah Bay.
Lieff Gutthiudaschmitt is a member of Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees. Paul Kouri in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this article.