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Makah Whaling

Five Makah men illegally hunted and killed a grey whale off the coast of Neah Bay last Saturday, and were subsequently arrested. The tribe has denounced the action, as have conservation and animal welfare organizations across the country. As an animal rescuer working within the region, and a former resident of Bullman Beach, a mile from the Makah nation, I feel it is appropriate that I make a statement as well.

First, I wish to make it clear that the Makah people have a rich cultural heritage and in my experience, they are kind, hospitable, good people. In the year that I lived just outside of Neah Bay, I never had a negative experience with anyone from the tribe. I felt privileged to experience a culture that was so different from my own, and to live in such a unique community.

When I lived near Neah Bay, I watched whales every day from my front yard. Sometimes they were far out in the Strait, and other times they were so close I could look them in the eyes. If reports are correct, the whale killed on Saturday was a familiar whale to me; in fact, he was my favorite whale, and I could always find him in the same spot, even when no other whales were around. I have frequently taken my out of town guests to see him, and I consider his untimely death a personal tragedy, as well as a loss to others in our community who enjoy whales, and view them as far more than a commodity, or a means to an end. I know they share my sorrow at the death of one of our favorite whales, and my horror that the death took twelve, agonizing hours.

I have no problems with the Makah, but I do oppose the actions of a few within their community that I believe are contrary to the welfare of the local wildlife and to the soundness of the ecosystem. These actions include rampant littering, certain fishing practices, the recreational killing of sea birds, seal hunting, and whaling.

The Makah have made several arguments in favor of whaling, the two predominant ones being that whaling is a vital part of their cultural heritage, and that eating whale meat is vital to the physical health of the Makah people.

My own cultural heritage is predominantly British (although I recently learned I may be as much as one fourth Native American); whaling is part of my heritage, just as it is part of the Makah's. However, Great Britain is now the world leader in opposing whaling, and I am adamantly against it as well. Why? Because killing whales does nothing to preserve my culture; the knowledge of whaling practices is not diminished by the fact that those practices are no longer taking place, and I believe that most people in the Western world have come to the conclusion that whales are of greater value alive than dead. If the Makah's desire to hunt whales comes out of a need to preserve their culture, then Makah whalers can certainly find ways to keep that heritage alive without killing anything. Furthermore, the Makah whalers are not using the same practices that they did in the past, which demonstrates quite clearly to me that cultural heritage is not truly a concern. In Saturday's incident, the men did not even use a traditional canoe. Wayne Johnson, the leader of the men responsible, stated, "Why mess around with a canoe? It would have been more people in jail, and we would have lost the canoe." It seems to me that if cultural preservation was the aim, messing around with a canoe would have been a worthwhile inconvenience.

It's not that I believe whaling is inherently wrong, but some practices outlive their necessity. There was certainly a time when the Makah needed to hunt whales, but that time is past. The Makah have changed in so many other ways, why is whaling so crucial? The people no longer live in traditional homes, the traditional social order is all but gone, and many other traditional foods are rarely eaten, in favor of store-bought fare, the traditional dress and language have vanished; so what makes whaling worth preserving when so many other aspects of traditional Makah life have been so willingly discarded?

As far as the health concern, I know for a fact that there is healthy food available at Washburn's General Store in Neah Bay, because I did my grocery shopping there for a year, and I ate healthier there than I have been able to in Forks. I also know that there are Twinkies and candy bars and other items that would contribute to health concerns like obesity. To say that the poor health of many in the Makah nation is the result of a lack of whale meat is preposterous; the poor health in the Makah nation is a result of the same factors as poor health throughout the United States -- people eating too much fat and sugar and not exercising enough. What's more, grey whale meat not only tastes terrible, as evidenced by how much of it was wasted the last time the Makah killed a whale, it is so polluted with mercury and other heavy metals that it could never be approved for human consumption by the FDA.

The question I always come back to is that of who owns the ocean and the whales that live in it. Do the whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca belong to the United States or Canada? Do they belong to the federal government, the state of Washington, or the American taxpayers? Do they belong to the Makah? Do they belong to me? I believe that until we figure that out, we'd best not kill any of them, lest we discover that they aren't ours to kill. And if they don't belong to any of us, then certainly we have no right to kill them at all, especially when they meet no actual, physical need for the Makah, who have plenty to eat and plenty of ways to earn a living.

Wayne Johnson believes that the whale he helped kill Saturday "chose" him and his companions, which is perhaps the most ridiculous statement of all -- that a wild animal would choose to be killed by a group of men, presumably because the whale cares about preserving Makah culture, too. The whale, which was born and lived its life during an era without intense whaling, had no reason to fear the men in their motorboats. Whales in this area are, in fact, accustomed to having boats around, as the smart fishermen know that where the whales are, there are often fish to be caught as well.

I care deeply about the Makah people and I wish them continued success in the preservation of their heritage for future generations, but my desire is that they can continue to find ways to do so without killing the marine mammals that so many of us cherish. It is my hope that open dialog will continue and that members of the tribe who oppose whaling can express their views without fear of reprisal. And for the men who illegally and unethically killed one of our whales on Saturday, I hope that the Makah tribal council was serious when they issued a statement that they would prosecute them to the full extent of the law and cooperate with any and all federal investigations, and I sincerely hope that federal prosecutors get involved and see to it that these men receive justice for their crime against the United States and against nature itself.

Steve Markwell

Posted on September 11, 2007