THE ECOTONE
Fall 1999 The Journal of Environmental Studies, The University of Oregon
Perspectives:
Makah Whaling
Matthew Dennis Makahs and Gray Whales: Not Black and White 3
Madonna Moss Whale Hunt Honors Makah Way of Life 4
Peter List Animal Rights and Cultural Ethics in the Resumption of Makah Whaling 6
Peter Walker Makah Whaling is also a Political Issue 8
Alex Tizon Makah Whale Hunt Spurs Racist Comments 10
Editor's Note
ECOTONE: a transition zone between two adjacent
ecological communities, such as forest and grassland.
It has some of the characteristics of each bordering
community and often contains species not found in the
overlapping communities. An ecotone may exist along
a broad belt or in a small pocket, such as a forest
clearing, where two local communities blend together.
The influence of the two bordering communities on
each other is known as the edge effect. An ecotonal
area often has a higher density of organisms and a
greater number of species than are found in either
flanking community.
This issue of THE ECOTONE analyzes the contro-versial killing of a 3-year-old female gray ,
1999. The Makah, hunting in their "usual and custom-
ary" fishing grounds off the Olympic Penninsula of
Washington State, sparked a worldwide debate over
animal versus cultural rights. This hunt was contro-
versial in itself - the Makah asserted their right to
resume their ancient whaling tradition based on an
1855 treaty. After years of lobbying, the International
Whaling Commission finally allowed up to 20 whales
to be taken over five years. Meanwhile, the whale had
become one of the most important "charismatic
megafauna" of contemporary environmentalism an
immense, intelligent and awe-inspiring species that
has generated tremendous public opposition to com-
mercial whaling. Adding fuel to the fire, the Makah
hunt was televised live to a worldwide audience.
Millions of people saw footage of the gray whale
being harpooned and subsequently shot with a high-
powered rifle. These images provoked a storm of
protest and countervailing defense of native cultural
rights.
In this issue, we examine this controversy from mul-
tiple perspectives. In his article, "Makahs and Gray
Whales: Not Black and White" Professor Matthew
Dennis examines the historical background of this
issue. In her article, "Whale Hunt Honors Makah Way
of Life," Professor Madonna Moss provides an anthro-
pological perspective, based in part on field experi-
ence with the Makah. Professor Peter List then dis-
cusses the difficult ethical issues involved in
"Animal Rights and Cultural Ethics in the Re-
sumption of Makah Whaling." Professor Peter
Walker then provides a political perspective in his
article, "Makah Whaling is also a Political Issue" -
situating this issue in the wider context of global
whaling politics. Finally, reporter Alex Tizon of
the Seattle Times reminds us that racism remains a
potent and ugly reality in our society, often lurk-
ing below the surface until provoked. His article,
"Makah Whale Hunt Spurs Racist Comments,"
should remind us all that environmental conflicts
are rarely about nature alone. Together, these
articles help us see some of the interwoven threads
that make this (and every) environmental issue a
Gordian knot of complexity and conflicting
values.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Makahs and Gray Whales: Not Black and White
Whale Hunt Honors Makah Way of Life
Animal Rights and Cultural Ethics
Makah Whaling is also a Political Issue
Makah Whale Hunt Spurs Racist Comments 10
THE ECOTONE
THE ECOTONE is published by the Environmental Studies Program at
the University of Oregon. If you have any questions, comments or
articles, or if you would like to be placed on the mailing list, please
contact us at:
THE ECOTONE
Environmental Studies Program
5223 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ecotone@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Web Address: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ecostudy/Resources/
Publications/ecotone_index.htm
EDITOR
Anthony A. Leiserowitz
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Matthew Dennis
Dr. Madonna Moss
Dr. Peter List
Dr. Peter Walker
Alex Tizon
Makahs and Gray Whales: Not Black and White*
by Matthew Dennis, Associate Professor of History, University of Oregon
The Makah Indians live at the extreme edge ofthe North American continent, on the tip of the
meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They have been
there for at least 2,000 years. Marginalized by the
United States and its citizens for over a hundred years,
they find themselves today at the edge of a controversy
pitting crusading newcomers, self-proclaimed protec-
tors of whales, against Natives, who seek to cultivate
tradition and insure their cultural survival.
The complex nature of the controversy bedevils easy
explanation. We prefer stories in which the forces of
good face the forces of evil. If all was black and
white, solutions would be plainly obvious, and the
difficult dilemmas we confront in the real world would
dissolve into the happy endings of Hollywood. We all
want to save whales; we all want to recognize and
redeem the injustices which have victimized Indians.
It's not so simple.
Gray whales are native to the Pacific Ocean,migrating annually between the Bering Sea
majestic animals, weighing up to 40 tons and growing
to lengths of 50 feet, inspiring awe and respect among
virtually all who see them.
Makahs are a people whose history in the Northwest
predates the arrival of Europeans in North America by
well over a millennium. From time immemorial (that
is, until the 1920s) they have subsisted ? not just
economically, but spiritually and culturally ? through
whale hunting.
Makahs' contact with European and United States
explorers, traders, settlers, and officials has been
devastating. Disease introduced by outsiders reduced
their numbers by at least seventy-five percent within
fifty years of Lewis and Clark's famous expedition to
the Oregon Country. A treaty in 1855 shrunk their
ancestral lands and created a reservation, but it also
guaranteed their right to continue to hunt, fish, and
gather, though this contractual pledge would often be
honored only in the breech. Meanwhile, Makahs were
encouraged to assimilate, adopting agriculture (though
their lands were poorly suited to it), sending their
children to local agency and distant boarding schools,
and abandoning their traditions and Native identities.
The Makah economy continued to focus on the sea,
particularly on the whale hunting that defined them.
By the 1920s, however, whale stocks were so depleted
that Makah whaling ended voluntarily. Were Makahs
the cause of the gray whale's near extinction? Hardly.
Industrialized, unsustainable hunting by white whalers
had taken its toll, threatening whale survival and
undermining Makah subsistence and culture. U.S.
government regulation and international agreements
further limited Makahs' ability to provide for them-
selves through hunting and fishing for other species,
and the heavy logging encouraged on the Makah
reservation denuded the landscape without enriching
the nation. Indian gaming ? itself a controversial
answer to Native poverty ? is precluded by the
reservation's remote location, some four hours by car
from Seattle. Unemployment hovers about the fifty
percent mark.
Throughout the Makahs' historical ordeal, the U.S.
government has shown little sympathy or respect for
Makah culture or rights. After the 1937 U.S. ban on
whaling ? a decade after Makahs themselves placed a
moratorium on such hunting ? armed federal mar-
shals prevented Makahs from using even those drift
whales that washed up on their beaches. This despite
the fact that article 4 of the Treaty of Neah Bay prom-
ised them the continuous right to hunt, fish, and gather
in their "usual and accustomed stations." By the
1970s, such contractual rights had been reaffirmed for
the Makahs and other Northwest Indian peoples by the
landmark ruling of Federal District Judge George
Boldt, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in
1979.
Makahs had waited a half century to return to whaling,
yet they waited another 20 years before returning to
the hunt, that is, until gray whale populations re-
bounded and until their modest hunts would not
* Reprint courtesy of the Eugene Register-Guard continued on page 4
Makahs and Gray Whales continued from page 3
imperil the mammal's survival. Today, an estimated
23,000 to 26,000 gray whales inhabit the Pacific.
Although not required to do so, Makahs filed a formal
request with the U.S. State Department and the Inter-
national Whaling Commission, seeking approval of its
ceremonial and subsistence hunt. In October of 1997,
the commission formally sanctioned the hunt, permit-
ting Makahs to take up to five whales per year, begin-
ning in 1998. Still, the Makahs proceeded cautiously
and responsibly, forming their own whaling commis-
sion, selecting an appropriate crew, drawing up physi-
cal and spiritual guidelines and training crew mem-
bers, and cooperating with the National Marine Fisher-
ies Service to draw up a management plan. It was a
difficult process for Makahs as they sought to restore
their traditions and accommodate them to modern
realities. On May 18, 1999, their painstaking efforts
culminated in the successful taking of a gray whale, a
result bewailed by some fringe environmentalists
(many environmentalists ? Greenpeace, for example
? do not oppose Makah whaling) and some unsympa-
thetic or uniformed observers.
Makah whaling will have no impact on thesurvival of gray whales, but it's likely to r
fates are intertwined, not at odds. Historically, the
Makahs have shown whales as much respect as any
other American people. And they continue to act
accordingly. Critics claim the hunt is not traditional
because it employs modern equipment as well as
handmade harpoons and a cedar canoe. Who are these
critics to interpret Makah traditions for Makahs? And
why must Makahs be relegated to fossil status? It is
ethnocentric to hold Makahs to a different standard ?
all cultures and religions meld the old and new. If
ministers, priests, and rabbis deliver sermons through
microphones, or if we depend on electric ovens to
prepare traditional, ritual meals at Easter or Passover,
who's to say that Makahs cannot conduct sacred hunts
in a similar, technologically-updated fashion? As
Makah elder George Bowechop observed, "They want
us in a museum. They'd rather we just said, 'Oh, the
Makah were great whalers,' and leave it at that. They
want us to have a dead culture. But it's been our way
of life. We look at the ocean and we feel we not only
have a legal right but a moral right to whale."
We might not understand the place of whales and
whale hunting in Makah culture; we may not prefer to
eat whale meat ourselves; we may prefer vegetarian-
ism; and we may regret that any animals are killed,
particularly such massive creatures as whales. But we
should accept Makah whaling, based on our treaty
obligations, our support for religious freedom, our
commitment to pluralism, and our faith in the national
and international scientific community's assurances
that gray whales are not endangered by the practice.
Whale Hunt Honors Makah Way of Life*
by Madonna Moss, Associate Professor of Anthopology, University of Oregon
Twenty-five years ago, I had the privilege ofworking alongside Makah students on the ,
located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.
I had enrolled in the Washington State University field
school, co-sponsored by the Makah tribe, one of the
first collaborative efforts between an American Indian
tribe and a university on an archaeological project. It
was a pivotal experience, eventually leading me to a
career in anthropology.
During that summer of 1974,1 learned that Makah
culture was not dead or dying. Makah youth were very
proud of their heritage. They knew the songs of their
kin groups. They knew the dances their elders had
taught them, and they honored their grandparents.
They knew the ecology of their home territory: the
food, medicinal, and industrial uses of the plants and
animals in their rain forests, on their beaches, and in
the near-shore and offshore marine environments.
They were incredibly patient and generous with
outsiders such as me.
"Reprint courtesy of the Eugene Register-Guard
Life on the reservation was not idyllic, with poverty,
unemployment and substance abuse causing serious
social distress. The work at Ozette, however, promised
to uncover a different chapter of their history.
Ozette was a whaling village, its occupationdating back 2,000 years. It's a prime location
northern fur seals and Steller sea lions. The remains of
the village were buried under a mudslide, preserving
the tools and household furniture, as well as the houses
themselves that normally disintegrate in the wet
Northwest climate.
Contained in the deposit were numerous whale bones,
many used to line an extensive drain system built
around the large wood plankhouses.
Whale bones were used to make furniture and many
other artifacts. We found the weapons used to hunt
whales, harpoon point blades made of sharpened
mussel shell, bone harpoon valves, cedar rope lanyards
and parts of the sealskin floats used to drag the whale.
In one of the four houses excavated was a wood
carving of a whale's dorsal fin, inlaid with more than
700 sea otter teeth. This item of great wealth was
found in the back of the house, associated with the
highest-status family at the site, probably that of the
whaling captain. The artifacts recovered from Ozette
can be seen at the Makah Cultural and Research
Center, a world-class, Makah-run museum at Neah
Bay.
Drawing from ethnographic, archaeological and
ethnohistorical sources, we know that not every
Makah was qualified to be a whaler. The prerogative
to hunt whales was inherited, but it also had to be
earned.
Young men apprenticed to experienced senior men to
learn the technology and personal power necessary for
whaling and seafaring. They prepared for the hunt by
fasting, spiritual purification and rigorous physical
training. Women played roles of equal importance; the
wives of whalers had to undergo their own rites of
purification and spiritual disciplines.
It was a great privilege to be involved in whaling, and
the entire community depended on the success of the
whaling party. The same is true today.
Non-natives have caricatured contemporaryMakahs as red-neck hunters, out to enjoy thef
the "savage" or "primitive" American Indian. This
grossly ethnocentric misrepresentation of Makah
technological sophistication also fails to acknowledge
the religious importance of whaling. While many of us
have grown up in a society that rigidly divides church
and state, religion was not separated out of everyday
Makah life, neither in the past nor today.
The Makah and their relatives on the west coast of
Vancouver Island, the Nuu-chah-nulth, were the only
northwest coast Indians who routinely hunted whales.
The Makah have a special relationship with the gray
whale, and whaling is an essential part of Makah
social identity. This was never strictly an economic
pursuit, as it incorporated spiritual practices Chris-
tians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists would
call "prayer" and "meditation." Whaling was recog-
nized as a dangerous activity, not only because of the
whale's size and physical power, but also because of
the volatility of ocean conditions. Whalers were
confronting challenges of supernatural proportions,
and their success required individual and community
preparation.
Whaling demands comparable physical and spiritual
provisions today; although, unfortunately, the whaling
crew has faced intimidation and threats of violence by
misguided radical environmentalists.
While the Ozette investigations were aboutdocumenting the past, Makah whaling d
reclaiming history. The Makah hunt was sanctioned by
the International Whaling Commission because it did
not pose a threat to the survival of gray whales. As
indicated recently, biologist Bruce Mate, of the
Hatfield Marine Science Center, has documented 65
gray whales found dead along the shorelines of
Mexico, California and Oregon this past winter.
Whatever has been killing these whales should be of
continued on page 6
Makah Way of Life continued from page 5
far greater concern to us than the single whale taken
by the Makah. If we are worried about the gray
whales, we should support Mate and others in discov-
ering the causes of these deaths.
We can rest assured that the Makah will use the
products of their whale responsibly to nurture their
bodies and souls, to honor their ancestors and to
educate the rest of us about their unique culture.
Animal Rights and Cultural Ethics in the Resumption of
Makah Whaling
by Peter List, Professor of Philosophy, Oregon State University
The heated debate about Makah whaling re-veals some of the deepest and contrary atti- e
are many cultural, legal and political questions
involved, some believe that this is primarily a ques-
tion of ethics and that the resolution of the propriety
of hunting and killing whales should determine how
these other questions should be answered. The key
issue for them is whether it is ever morally right for
anyone to deliberately take the life of an intelligent
creature such as a gray whale. In the end, they imply,
this is not a negotiable matter but can be settled,
logically, by rational arguments about the intelligent
nature of whales and the harm that results from
killing them.
But, should these arguments be divorced socleanly from the history of racist oppression
by law, and long-standing cultural traditions that
make whaling an important feature of some native
American cultures? Shouldn't we be concerned about
the imposition of ethical views on native American
cultural groups when they do not share all of the same
ideas about right and wrong? Isn't it reasonable to
believe that the Makah are capable of defining their
own responsibilities without outside intellectual
interference? The ethical dimensions of this issue are
more complicated than they may appear to some
moralists.
The strongest arguments about the immorality of
whale hunting are made by those who believe ar-
dently in animal rights and the injustice of violating
the rig Ms of whales. The intellectual basis for these
arguments was laid down some years ago by various
thinkers, including Tom Regan, one of the most promi-
nent animal rights philosophers in the United States.
Regan concluded that the moral objections against
whaling are convincing reasons to cease whaling
altogether, and, though he was referring mostly to
commercial whaling, anti-whaling protesters at Neah
Bay have used arguments like his to buttress their case.
Regan made two points to support his position: first,
hunting and killing whales is morally reprehensible
because of the painful methods used; and second,
independent of whether this is true or not, killing
whales is simply wrong because a harm is done to
them.
With regard to the first idea, Regan stated that there is
little doubt that whales can be caused significant pain
by the technology used to kill them. He pointed out
that whales are social mammals with considerable
intelligence and well developed nervous systems and
brains. This gives them sophisticated sensory powers,
including the capacity to perceive and feel things
similar to humans. Moreover their behavior indicates
that they are able to both enjoy their lives and to suffer
pain, physical and psychological. In short, they are
"sentient" creatures. Thus some whaling methods, such
as harpooning, obviously cause them significant pain,
are cruel, and should be eliminated.
After Makah whalers killed the first gray whale in May
this year, protesters argued that this was clearly ago-
nizing to the whale because the whalers initially used
harpoons that wounded the mammal and then, after
approximately eight minutes or so, completed the
killing with a .50-caliber rifle. At a minimum, they
asserted, the method of killing used should not deliber-
ately cause pain to the mammal, and of course few
would disagree. But suppose, Regan continued, that
this first argument is set aside on grounds that whaling
could be made "clean and efficient" and could be done
so as to cause instant and painless death. Would the
hunting and killing of whales still be morally right?
Regan concluded that it would not because of a second
argument that he took to be even more convincing,
namely, that because whales are intelligent, social
creatures with well developed psychological powers,
there are some things that are in their interest and
others that are not. This means that what happens in
their lives matters to them and makes a difference to
the quality of their lives as experienced by them.
Whales are the kinds of individual who can be ben-
efited or harmed by what is done to them. Thus their
death, for them, can be harmful; it can deprive them of
their life's goods. Regan did not want to suggest that it
is always wrong to take the life of another being, only
that it is wrong to engage in any activity that kills
sentient individuals when their legitimate interests are
harmed by being killed. So even if whale hunters
could kill whales painlessly, Regan concluded it would
still be wrong. Whales have a right to life just as
humans and other animals with interests do, and they
have this right apart from any value they may have to
humans.
On the face of it, Regan's two arguments are quite
powerful and logical enough. They reflect evolving
ethical traditions in our society about the proper
treatment of animals and widespread human sympa-
thies for the plight of whales and other marine mam-
mals. We have come to learn a great deal about the
behavior and habits of many of these wonderful
creatures, and this has led us to revere them as fellow
travelers in the earth s biotic journey and to treat them
with more respect. Moreover, the human record of
commercial whaling is indeed a sorry one that has
pushed some whale species into extinction, endan-
gered others, and threatened still others. The gray
whale was on the brink of extinction earlier in this
century because of rapacious and relentless industrial
whaling operations. Only recently did its numbers
recover enough for it to be declared healthy, after a
long period of legal protection.
Despite all of this, I find myself of two mindsabout the resumption of Makah whaling, and
the animal rights position is powerful, yet does not
address some other, important ethical aspects of
Makah whaling, and these can not be so easily put on
the backburner by strong commitments to the rights of
animals.
One of the troublesome aspects lurking in the back-
ground is that the Makah were not responsible for
endangering gray whales to begin with. In fact historic
reports make it clear that they and the gray whales
were able to thrive mutually even though traditional
Makah culture revolved around gray whale hunts.
Instead this evil was perpetrated on gray whales by
non-Indian, commercial whalers from many "ad-
vanced" countries some years ago, and the number of
whales taken by the Makah annually was apparently
well within the ecological threshhold for the mainte-
nance of a healthy population of California grays. The
Makah then do not share the guilt that falls upon those
historic persons who committed these environmental
crimes, and they should not be held responsible for
them today. The "dominant" culture destroyed this
essential element of Makah culture and should answer
for it ? not the Makah. Should we now complain
about their efforts to restore at least some features of
their former whaling culture, after representatives of
our industrial nations were responsible for decimating
their way of life?
Another important point is that the Makah have treaty
rights that allow them to whale. These rights were
agreed to nearly 145 years ago by our government,
and the Makah have never given up these rights.
Before they stopped whaling in the 1920s because of
the scarcity of gray whales, the Makah continued to
hunt gray whales and would probably still be hunting
them today if others had not been responsible for
pillaging the gray whale population. So the fact that
they lost their major means of subsistence and cultural
identity and had to resort to other means of survival,
does not mean that they have given up their right to
hunt gray whales. As citizens who are indirect parties
continued on page 8
Animal Rights continued from page 7
to these treaties and collective inheritors of the sins of
our forebears, we ought to respect the rights of the
Makah and make sure that their rights can be exer-
cised, just as we have ethical obligations to respect
other kinds of legal agreements.
I would also be wary of the "dominant" culture impos-
ing its ethical attitudes and its will onto the Makah,
acting then as if the Makah should not be able to
determine for themselves what is a viable route to
restore pride in their traditional culture and to maintain
that culture, as best they can, on their own terms. The
Makah are justifiably sensitive about the assumption
that other ethical values and attitudes are superior to
their own and should restrict their cultural choices.
This kind of ethical ethnocentrism, subordinating the
values of Indian cultures to non-Indian values, is an
old and painful story in North America, and it would
be a mistake to repeat it in this case. No one should
tolerate heinous practices in the name of cultural self-
determination; we have sufficient experience in this
century to know that this is not ethically acceptable.
But I have enough faith in the Makah as a people to
believe that this is not what is happening in this
situation.
So, at this stage in the history of relations between the
United States and native American cultures, and our
disgraceful record of "helping" integrate them into
what "we think" is good for them, I am inclined to
place my trust in the Makah to make their own way.
The Makah themselves may have some differences of
opinion about the resumption of whaling; perhaps they
will eventually turn away from whaling altogether.
But they are responsible people and are capable of
working these matters out internally. At the same time
we should be wary of claims that human management
can necessarily sustain a population of ocean mam-
mals for any period of time. While the success of gray
whale protection efforts should be acknowledged, it is
not inevitable that a healthy, recovered species will
stay that way indefinitely, given the continuing,
negative impacts of humans on the Pacific ocean
environment. Though the current Makah gray whale
allotment is too insignificant to pose a threat to the
species as a whole, coupled with the strength of
animal rights arguments and the possibility that other
cultural groups and countries may resume gray whal-
ing, the ethical proprieties could change dramatically
in the future.
Makah Whaling is also a Political Issue
by Peter Walker, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Oregon
In the debate over the recent killing of a gray whaleby the Makah Nation of Washington State, both
American culture present strong moral arguments. But
the debate has largely ignored the important political
implications of the hunt. Specifically, will the Makah
hunt be used as a wedge to break international protec-
tions against whaling? And what does the Makah hunt
say about the role of 'tradition' and culture in our
social choices?
No reasonable person denies that the Makah have
suffered deep cultural losses, nor that the whale is an
important part of their culture. The question is
whether killing whales is indispensable for revitalizing
Makah culture, and whether this goal outweighs the
moral and political costs.
There is much more at stake than the five whales per
year that the Makah have permission to kill. Makah
whaling provides a powerful tool for Japanese, Nor-
wegian, Icelandic, and Russian whalers who want to
expand whaling globally. At the annual meeting of
the International Whaling Commission that took place
shortly after the first Makah kill in more than 70 years,
Japan accused the U.S. Government of hypocrisy for
8
endorsing the Makah hunt and even subsidizing it with
a $310,000 grant while rejecting Japan's petition to
allow 'traditional' Japanese whaling.
The two are not the same: the Makah have a respon-
sible management plan based on cultural needs,
whereas Japan barely disguises its commercial mo-
tives. But these distinctions are lost in the global
politics of whaling. The Makah hunt plays perfectly
into the hands of the Japanese and other whaling
countries who use loopholes such as 'scientific re-
search' to continue commercial hunting. The whaling
nations believe the Makah case will add 'cultural
need' to the list of loopholes they can exploit. That's
why the Japanese offered financial support for the
Makah hunt (which the Makah, mindful of being
perceived as pawns of the Japanese, declined).
Moreover, the Makah hunt is being used by the Japa-
nese and others as evidence that whale populations
globally are strong enough to end the ban on commer-
cial whaling (scientists disagree). Japan and others
have lobbied hard for 'managed' commercial whaling.
These management plans send shivers down the spines
of those who have seen the same kind of 'manage-
ment' contribute to the decimation of Atlantic cod and
Pacific salmon populations.
In addition to this political fallout, another questionraised by the Makah case is how 'tradition' should
the cultural needs and traditions of the Makah out-
weigh political and/or moral objections.
But traditions and political rights have always had an
uneasy relationship, and for good reasons. Europeans
had a long tradition of slavery, until society declared it
unacceptable. The Chinese bound and crippled
women's feet. Some African societies practice female
genital mutilation. These are practices that our society
condemns, regardless of their being traditional.
Many people believe that whales are such intelligent,
social beings that their killing cannot be justified by
tradition. Indeed, many believe that the killing of
whales or other highly intelligent animals is a moral
wrong comparable to the murder of human beings, and
that the time for whaling, like these other traditions,
has passed.
Defenders of Makah whaling will reject the compari-
sons, but they should not dismiss the fact that killing
whales is profoundly offensive to many decent
people who have no animosity toward the Makah.
Those who oppose Makah whaling have become easy
targets for charges of racism and neocolonialism.
Sadly, some anti-whaling activists have behaved
atrociously, turning their anger against whaling into
personal or even racial attacks against the Makah.
Most opponents of Makah whaling, however, are
opposed to whaling, not to the Makah. Many are
deeply troubled at the painful tradeoff the Makah case
poses between cultural rights and animal rights. Their
opposition is motivated by respect for the whale, not
by disrespect for the Makah. The disrespectful ? even
racist ? behavior of a small number of anti-whaling
activists should not be used to devalue the deeply-held
values of the millions of Americans who respect both
whales and Native American culture.
Traditional culture is important to preserve, but it can -
and always has - changed with new circumstances.
The passionate defense of Makah 'tradition7 by some
non-Makah is naive and even demeaning to the Makah
themselves. All cultures change. The Makah have not
actively whaled since the turn of the century. Pre-
European Makah culture cannot be re-created, nor is
that necessarily desirable. The Makah themselves take
offense at those who want to make them into "mu-
seum pieces" to fit a romanticized vision of the Native
American. The past does not dictate the future -
culture is shaped as much by new circumstances and
the choices we make today as it is by tradition.
Recognizing that cultural change is inevitable calls
into question the idea of an unbreakable, unchanging
cosmological circle between whaling and Makah
culture. Some Makah, including many of the tribe's
elders, believe that times have changed and that there
are better ways to revitalize Makah culture. These
Makah elders can hardly be called racists ~ they
simply envision a different future for their people.
continued on page 10
Political Issue continued from page 9
Recognizing that cultural change is possible and
possibly desirable does not give non-Makah the right
to tell the Makah what to do. The Makah have unam-
biguous rights under the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay
which guarantees them the right to kill whales. There
is a long tradition in the U.S. of breaking treaties with
Native Americans - a tradition that should be ended.
But non-Makah can hope and respectfully ask the
Makah to recognize that today they are key players in
the global politics of whaling. Gray whale populations
are strong, but others are not. A voluntary suspension
of Makah whaling would be a powerful blow against
those who will surely exploit Makah tradition for their
own profit, and would bolster the precarious interna-
tional sanctions that stand between whales and extinc-
tion.
The Makah should have faith that they can be a proud
culture without killing whales. The whales, on the
other hand, may not survive without help from the
Makah.
Makah Whale Hunt Spurs Racist Comments*
by Alex Tizon, Seattle Times Reporter
If words were harpoons, the Makah Tribe of theOlympic Peninsula might well suffer the same fate
sion early last week.
So hostile has been the protest to the hunt that Makah
tribe members have put their reservation, inundated
with death threats, in a state of war-time alert. Bomb
threats have evacuated Indian schools. Airwaves and
editorial pages across Western Washington have
carried anti-Indian vitriol not heard or seen since the
Boldt Decision a quarter century ago.
The Makahs have been called savages, drunkards and
laggards. Protesters have entreated people to "Save a
whale, harpoon a Makah." Calls for a return to killing
Indians like in the Old Wild West have appeared in
Internet chat rooms and in newsletters.
"The hatred surprises me," says Ann Renker, an
anthropologist specializing in Makah culture who is
married to a Makah. "I was thinking there would be
more 'Poor whale.1 The violence being expressed
toward the human beings involved in the hunt - 'Shoot
an Indian, bomb them, harpoon them!' ~ this abso-
lutely surprises me."
The Times has received hundreds of letters andphone calls. By one count, protesters outnum-bered Makah supporters 10-to-l. They ranged
from well-articulated objections to visceral outrage.
Protesters fell into three broad categories: those who
decried the killing of the whale, those who disap-
proved of how the whale was killed, and those who
seemed to harbor a resentment, even hatred, toward
the Makahs in particular and Indians in general.
Most respondents fit into the first two categories. The
third group was small, but big enough to warrant
attention. Their letters are the kind seldom printed,
partly because of an assumption they don't represent a
large number of people. That assumption, many would
argue, is wrong.
At the same time, it's often impossible in heated
conflicts involving race and culture to distinguish
racist language from simple rage. When are rage and
racism the same thing? When does protest become
oppression?
The lines between these can be fuzzy to begin with.
When you throw into the core of the conflict a creature
of exalted status such as a whale, then stir things up
with fight-to-the-death conviction on all sides, the
result is a complex and incendiary stew.
Blood has spilled, and a door has opened to all manner
of incivilities. The public discussion has become a
free-for-all. Political correctness, for better or worse,
has gone out the window.
*? Reprint courtesy of the Seattle Times
10
Here are some samples of the third category. You
judge whether they are racist.
Ernie Denney, Everett: "(To the Makahs) Maybe you
can try just as hard at getting an education as you did
training for the kill. Why don't you start a new tradi-
tion: take pride in yourselves . . . and work for a living
instead of finding your courage in the death of a
defenseless mammal or at the bottom of a bottle."
Mark Morin, Redmond: "I have a very real hatred for
Native Americans now. It's embarrassing, but I would
be lying if I said it wasn't the truth. What do you think
will be my private thoughts deep inside my brain when
a Native American drops off an application for a job
with me?"
Steve Grimwood: "These people want to rekindle their
traditional way of life by killing an animal that has
probably twice the mental capacity they have. These
idiots need to use what little brains they have to do
something productive besides getting drunk and
spending federal funds to live on."
Wendy and Erica (mother and daughter): "Hey, I think
we should also be able to take their land if they can
take our whales. Publish this article but don't use our
last names. We wouldn't want to lose our scalps."
John and Edna Zawyrucha: "Natives were often
referred to as 'savages,' and it seems little has changed.
God Bless America and all those members of the
Makah tribe who once again were successful in resur-
recting latent feelings of racial hatreds!"
Dave Ferguson, Bremerton: "If the Makahs are so
stuck in the past. . . perhaps we should allow them to
stay in the past and take all modern conveniences and
luxuries away from them and see how long they last."
Phillips Wylly, Pebble Beach, Calif.,: "I am anxious to
know where I may apply for a license to kill Indians.
My forefathers helped settle the west and it was their
tradition to kill every Redskin they saw. The only
good Indian is a dead Indian,' they believed. I also
want to keep faith with my ancestors."
Michael Christophersen, Seattle: "They are a modern-
ized welfare race. I personally hate the Makah Tribe. I
hope and pray for a terrible end to the Makah Tribe,
very slow and very painful."
Dave Wellman, a research sociologist at theUniversity of California at Berkeley and -
bridge University Press), said he wasn't surprised by
the violent reaction to the hunt. He had no hesitation
in calling some of the reactions blatantly racist.
"When you start hearing language that it's time to
hunt Indians again, you have to realize that's the
language of genocide," Wellman said. A necessary
presupposition is that Indians are subhuman,
"huntable" like animals. "You don't hear people
saying it's time to hunt white people when a couple of
white men drag a black man behind a truck in Texas."
Violent racism is almost never recognized as racism
while it's happening; it's called something else,
Wellman said. The Nazi campaign to exterminate
Jews was called The Final Solution. The Indian wars
of the 1800's were called Manifest Destiny or White
Man's Burden or Winning the West. The Indians were
savages, and whites were bringing Christianity to save
them. Decades passed before portions of society
realized what was done to the Indians was genocide.
Racism is built in to the foundation of this country and
it has never gone away, Wellman said. It simply
doesn't get articulated during periods of quiet when
there's no conflict. "It's in moments like this when the
racism comes out into the open. But it was always
there."
One of the most vocal and articulate opponentsof the Makah hunt, Will Anderson of the d
that racism has surfaced ~ "It's a reflection of a
certain percentage of our society that we all know
exist" ? but he cautioned against labeling as racist all
anger toward the hunt.
"People are in shock. They're in a stage of unfocused
anger," he said. "When there's such an emotional
continued on page 12
11
Racist Comments continued from page 11
issue at stake, and so much work is at stake, it pushes
people to the edge, and that's what we're seeing."
Anderson said most of the organized protesters he
knows have tried hard to separate the deed from the
doer, have acknowledged the wrongs done to natives
in the past. But the Makah Tribe, like any other
political entity, "and like the Constitution and state and
federal laws, are fair targets for challenge."
Many supporters of the Makahs tolerate no criticism
toward the tribe, are convinced any protest against any
aboriginal group must be racist, he said.
I've been called racist many times. It's a knee-jerk
reaction. It's a form of hiding instead of dealing with
the true nature of the issue, and I reject it."
Much of the reaction has come as a result of the
whale's very public death on television, said Tom
Colonnese, director of the American Indian Studies
Center at the University of Washington, and a member
of the Santee Tribe of the Dakota Sioux Nation. The
television image of the whale being harpooned and
shot twice with a large-caliber rifle stirred up strong
emotions.
"If people watched a film of someone killing an elk, or
someone at a meat-packing plant slaughtering a steer
or a lamb or a calf, they would be similarly appalled,"
Colonnese said.
Media-savvy anti-whaling activists, such as Paul
Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society,
have said all along the best strategy against the Makah
hunt would be to let the world see the actual killing.
Whatever people believed intellectually would be
overpowered by the sheer drama of a public slaughter.
Some who wrote inflammatory letters to TheTimes, when challenged, denied any racist bent
Grimwood, who made derogatory remarks on the
intelligence of Indians, later wrote: "I can see I was
out of line. I was angry and reactionary. My apology
for that. But they (the Makahs) need to be stopped. It
sickens me to hear of this practice."
Jerry Rasmussen who wrote that he might don a U.S.
Cavalry uniform to hunt Indians, later said, "I re-
sponded quite emotionally and without much
thought."
Others, like Mark Morin of Redmond, however, said:
"Yes, my comments are racist. But when the entire
race of Indians support the killing of a whale, I guess
anybody who opposes the hunt. . suddenly finds
themselves being a racist. I guess being a racist is not
that bad when I consider the alternative."
And one writer who identified himself only as Tony
said: "While it would bother me to be termed a racist,
it bothers me more that whaling has resumed in the
Pacific Northwest. If the Makah wish to label me a
racist then I guess most of the country is racist against
them."
Ted Kerasote, author of "Bloodties: Nature,Culture and the Hunt" (Random House), said
particular hypocrisy in American culture. Many
Americans publicly espouse diversity and
multiculturalism, and even mouth support for the
renaissance of indigenous cultures. But the moment a
native community does something that "doesn't fit
into our preconceived notions of who we want
aboriginals to be," we threaten our wrath the wrath
of the majority.
One way to show wrath is by using stereotypes as a
weapon of ridicule or rebuke. References to scalping
and loincloths and tomahawks have gone unchecked
in many public forums.
"Certainly some of the negative reactions have been
expressed in terms that reveal the speakers' or writer's
stereotypes of Indians, which are the foundation of
racism," said Alexandra Harmon, assistant professor at
the UW American Indian Studies Center. "There is an
astonishing degree of insensitivity and ethnocentrism
in one critic's claim that any culture that regains its
pride by killing this way is displaying bloodthirsty
savagery.
"Again and again in American history," said Harmon,
"non-Indian Americans have demanded that Indians
act or live in some way other than Indians have cho-
sen. The current Makah story is a lesson about how
hard it is to recognize and resist that same ethnocentric
impulse today."
12
Recycled Paper