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Makah Nation mounts strong defense of whaling at public hearing

Friday, May 1, 2015

A gray whale in Neah Bay in Washington. Photo from Makah Nation

The Makah Nation of Washington offered a strong defense of its whaling rights at a public meeting on Wednesday, so strong that an opponent ended up changing his mind.

Tribal leaders and members said their ancestors gave up hundreds of thousands of acres under the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay. In exchange, they secured the right to hunt whales in order to feed their people.

“Our culture is our treasure, and our families have remembered their history is our treasure," elder Dotti Chamberlin said at the hearing, The Peninsula Daily News reported. "Think about the treaty and what we gave up to get that little reservation.”

Of the 19 people who spoke at the hearing, only four opposed the hunt, the paper said. But Gary Michael Lee changed his mind after listening to Chamberlin and others explain why whaling is so important to the Makah people

“I've listened to all this testimony, and I'm moved,” Lee said, the paper reported. “These are valuable creatures, but a deal has been made."

The tribe stopped hunting in the 1920s due to international exploitation that threatened the survival of the gray whale. After the whale was removed from the endangered species list, the tribe concluded a successful hunt in May 1999.

Lawsuits from environmental groups resulted in a series of rulings from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that said that the hunt must comply with the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The latest environmental impact statement details how that would happen.

Written comments can be submitted until June 11.

Get the Story:
Whaling opponent changes mind to support Makah tribe's request; turnaround shocks those at Port Angeles meeting (The Peninsula Daily News 5/1)
Washington state tribe's whale hunting request triggers new backlash (Reuters 4/29)