Following the removal of the gray whale from the Endangered Species list
in 1994, the Makah tribe of northwest Washington State announced that
they would revive their whale hunts; their relatives, the Nuu-chah-nulth
Nation of British Columbia, shortly followed suit. Neither tribe had
exercised their right to whale - in the case of the Makah, a right
affirmed in their 1855 treaty with the federal government - since the
gray whale had been hunted nearly to extinction by commercial whalers in
the 1920s. The Makah whale hunt of 1999 was an event of international
significance, connected to the worldwide struggle for aboriginal
sovereignty and to the broader discourses of environmental
sustainability, treaty rights, human rights, and animal rights. It was
met with enthusiastic support and vehement opposition.
As a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, Charlotte Cote offers a
valuable perspective on the issues surrounding indigenous whaling, past
and present. Whaling served important social, economic, and ritual
functions that have been at the core of Makah and Nuu-chahnulth
societies throughout their histories. Even as Native societies faced
disease epidemics and federal policies that undermined their cultures,
they remained connected to their traditions. The revival of whaling has
implications for the physical, mental, and spiritual health of these
Native communities today, Cote asserts. Whaling, she says, "defines who
we are as a people."
Her analysis includes major Native studies and contemporary Native
rights issues, and addresses environmentalism, animal rights activism,
anti-treaty conservatism, and the public's expectations about what it
means to be "Indian." These thoughtful critiques are intertwined with
the author's personal reflections, family stories, and information from
indigenous, anthropological, and historical sources to provide a bridge
between cultures.
A Capell Family Book
