"Self-defense by Indians throughout the years has been called 'massacre.' Now we're accused of massacring whales," he pointed out.

In the latest round in this long battle, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on June 9 suspended federal approval of the whale hunting by the Makah, ordering a new study of environmental risks. The federal court ruling aided opponents of Makah treaty rights and sovereignty, who hope whaling will be shut down for at least a few years while federal officials perform a lengthy, detailed "review."

The Makahs secured the right to whale under an 1855 treaty. In the 1920s, after commercial whaling had decimated whale populations, they voluntarily suspended whaling. They decided to resume whale hunting in 1998, four years after the gray whale was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List and after receiving permission from the International Whaling Commission to take up to 20 whales over a five-year period.

The federal study criticized by the Ninth Circuit Court did conclude that the hunt would not pose any risks to the Eastern Northern Pacific gray whale, which is estimated to number more than 26,000 today.

The president of the Makah Tribal Whaling Commission, Keith Johnson, called the circuit court ruling a "temporary setback" that would have little effect on the whale hunts, the Seattle Times reported June 10.

"The Makah have demonstrated the courage, self-confidence, and discipline to defend their right to whale as part of defending their sovereign rights as Makah, including their right to cultural traditions. Their calmness and determination helped win the victory last year against rightist attacks and attacks by some animal rights activists," said Scott Breen, Socialist Workers candidate for U.S. Senate and a member of the International Association of Machinists.

"The opposition was smaller and more isolated this year. But we shouldn't be lulled into complacency by last year's victory," he said, referring to the first successful whale hunt in more than 70 years. "The labor movement needs to champion the Makah's right to whale and work to educate and mobilize itself to defend the Makah's treaty rights. This attack on their rights is one aspect of the culture war being waged against the working class today."

Emboldened by employer and government attacks on the rights of working people, right-wing forces have targeted sections of the population, scapegoating them for problems caused by the capitalist system itself, in order to pit working people against each other. Native American whaling and fishing rights have been one such target.

Breen explained that the struggle by the Makah is part of a broader pattern of resistance by working people and the oppressed against the attacks by the wealthy rulers. Other examples he pointed to are the strike by Navajo miners against the Pittsburg and Midway Coal Co. in New Mexico, the popular uprising in Ecuador led by Indian organizations in January, and the meat packers at Dakota Premium Foods in St. Paul, Minnesota, who are fighting to organize a union.  
 
New pride among young generation
Elizabeth Sneatlum, a member of the Quileute Nation who attended the Militant Labor Forum, described the effect of last year's whale catch and the victory potlatch celebration. The potlatch was a gathering the Makah held to celebrate the successful hunt with food and meat from the whale that was caught. It was attended by 1,500 people, including guests of indigenous peoples from around the world.

"It brought a new wholeness, a renewal of pride, being, and understanding" to those who came, said Sneatlum. This was particularly significant for her because "there are a thousand Quileute in their 30s and 40s who were taken away from their parents as children or at birth by the state. Many people don't even know they're Quileute."

By fighting to restore cultural traditions through exercising their sovereign right to whale, the Makah elders are seeking to instill pride and confidence among Makah young people in Neah Bay, Washington, who face an unemployment rate of 75 percent.

Students at Neah Bay High School are reconstructing the skeleton of the first whale harpooned last year, bleaching and cleaning the bones and rebuilding the 30-foot-long, 700-pound skeleton that will hang in the Makah Nation's museum when they are finished.

Patrick DePoe, 17, who helped haul in the three-year-old whale caught last year, said, "It was humongous, man. I just wanted to be part of it. It was an adrenaline rush." Eddie McCarty, 16, said, "We're assembling something we're proud of."

A March 24 Seattle Times article on the reconstruction reported that "among the more popular clothing at Neah Bay High School are red-hooded sweat shirts and black T-shirts that read: 'May 17, 1999. 6:54 a.m.' " That's the exact moment the Makah harpooned their first whale since the 1920s.

Satiacum added, "There's not a lot to do on the reservation, so when the Makah decided to resume what was theirs, it sent a big ripple among our native community, getting the attention of the young kids. They asked, 'What do we do? What are we? What is our language?' "

Satiacum and Breen encouraged participants at the forum to get out the truth about the Makah whale hunts.

Breen also encouraged people to go to the August 25-27 Makah Days in Neah Bay. Speakers at the forum noted that the Makah have a web site with information on cultural and legal aspects of their whaling rights, at www.makah.com.

Cecelia Moriarity is a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.