Makah Whale Hunt

http://motherjones.com/politics/1998/09/great-american-whale-hunt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR2MEI1CcsA


Danny:

 Here’s an interesting video and article!  A classic battle between two all important aspects of Environmental Anthropology – What’s more important, the ancient practices of the Makah or the security of the Gray whale population? It’s a debate with deep implications for preservation of culture and environmentalism.  
This article does a pretty good job with presenting plenty of information relevant to the debate; while I would say the short documentary has a pro-whaling slant.   However, it includes some insightful opinions from the Makah tribe members on what whaling does for their community. This is pertinent to our class focus on how humans interact with their environment. 
 I also believe that the positive spiritual and communal effects of the whale hunt are more important than the food that the whale provides to the Makah.  In the film, the role of the whale in the diet is shown to be very important to the community. The woman being interviewed says it is the biggest thrill of her life to experience feeding her grandchildren whale, just like her ancestors.  Yet, it seems that more important than the nutrition is the communal sustenance and togetherness of the whale feed. As highlighted in the article, the Makah right of whaling for subsistence is highly dubious.  The people have lived for many years without whale meat, and – like the article says – have done relatively well for themselves.
But the end of the whale hunt was forced. The Makah ceased hunting as the commercialization of their tradition drove the whale population dangerously low. The national whale hunt had been as low-impact as the Makah lifestyle, perhaps the whales would never had reached endangered status in the first place.
Legally, the United States government has a responsibility to protect the whaling rights of the Makah, as per the 1855 treaty.  Native American people across the country have these agreements, and what would it say about the word of the government if they reneged on an explicit entitlement of the Makah? 
 There is the fear of an uncontrollable resurgence in whale hunting.  Detractors say that there is no absolute place to draw the line for the cultural significance of whaling.  I believe that there is a way to determine who can and can’t whale, and in order to protect both the whale population and the cultural rights of the Makah, governments must honor the covenants that they have made with the First People.

Rebecca:

Another important aspect to note is that NOAA actually supports the whaling practices. Although it seems that many scientific and environmental organizations would oppose the killing of even if not endangered, somewhat rare species, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does not. However, it appears that the main reason for supporting the Makah whaling practices is to avoid any further protest from other First People tribes.

From 1995 to 1998 the government gave the Makah people a total of $335,000 to aide them with their whale hunts. Although this is a small price to pay to maintain the integrity of a culture that has been around for such a long time, it seems that in today’s society, the economy is struggling so much, the cost might outweigh the benefit.

Whale hunting is a great example of how TEK has been passed down through generations. As Danny mentioned, the whale hunt makes present generations feel connected to their ancestors in a way that is much harder as technology continues to progress.

That being said, there are definitely some aspects of the whale hunt that haven’t been considered. These days, the whale hunt is hardly similar to the way the Makah tribe used to do it back in the day. After watching the video, I was appalled to see that they cooked whale meat the exact same way you or I would cook any type of fish, chicken or beef from a grocery store. They sit in the comfort of their homes using a typical stove and oven configuration. I would be so much more supportive of the whale hunting if they would use as traditional of means as possible. The way they are currently using whale feels like abuse of the system. It appears the Makah people are just doing the whale hunting because they can, and the government is willing to foot the bill.

-Danny Gibson and Rebecca Teel