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1998 The Seattle Times
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When whalers from around the globe visited the Makah Indian
reservation on the Olympic Peninsula last week, tribal members embraced
them as brothers in an embattled fraternity.
But the visitors probably won't return anytime soon.
The 60 guests - from lands as far-flung as Tonga, New Zealand,
Greenland and the Faroe Islands - also represent the kind of
public-relations headache the Makahs would like to avoid as they prepare
for the tribe's first whale hunt in seven decades.
The visitors were from the World Council of Whalers - an alliance of
aboriginal communities and Japanese and Norwegian interests battling to
resurrect the now-banned commercial whale trade.
John McCarty, head of the Makah Whaling Commission, acknowledged that
U.S. government officials backing their hunt this fall warned the tribe to
steer clear of the World Council. Those officials are so skittish about
the Makahs being tied to commercial-whaling interests that they've
counseled tribal members to avoid even being photographed with
representatives from pro-whaling countries like Japan, he added.
The Makahs swapped whaling legends and songs with their guests,
paddled them around in a whaling canoe and fired off the giant rifle the
tribe plans to use in their hunt.
"Showing hospitality is our way. And we felt an instant comfort with
these people because they were fellow whalers," McCarty said. "But we
didn't invite them. We've been told not to get involved in any way with
these guys (on the World Council of Whalers)."
Facing fierce opposition from conservation and animal-rights groups,
the remote Makah tribe has learned that savvy public relations is as
essential to a modern-day whale hunt as a harpoon.
Last year, the U.S. government successfully lobbied a deal through
the International Whaling Commission (IWC) that allows the Makahs to hunt
as many as four gray whales this year in the waters off Neah Bay. Gray
whales, unlike several other species, are no longer considered endangered.
The Makahs say they hope to resurrect cultural traditions and rebuild
their community. In their proposal to the IWC, they agreed to distribute
the whale meat only within the tribe and not sell it on the open market.
But critics worry promotion of cultural and subsistence whaling among
aboriginal groups like the Makahs masks a broader campaign to lift the
worldwide ban on commercial hunting.
"If the Makahs get away with their hunt, it will certainly influence
what the next step will be in the World Whaling Council's campaign," said
Naomi Rose of the Humane Society of the United States.
The council met for five days in Victoria, British Columbia, last
week, then crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca to visit the Makahs. The
group kept the meetings quiet to avoid protests.
But last Friday, when the group's visit leaked out, the Humane
Society alerted reporters.
The World Whaling Council, headquartered in a one-room office in Port
Alberni, B.C., was organized last summer.
In a recent news release, the council asserted that aboriginal groups
around the globe - as well as coastal communities in Japan and Norway -
have a right not only to hunt whales, but also to trade and sell the meat
and blubber as they see fit.
Currently, "subsistence" whaling is allowed among the Inupiat in
Alaska, the Chukotka in Russia, Eskimos in Greenland, residents of the
Faroe Islands and a small group on the Caribbean island of St. Vincents.
Several others, including the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Indian nations on Vancouver
Island, have expressed interest in resuming whaling.
The role of Japanese and Norwegian commercial interests on the
council has come under attack. Organizers say at least 20 percent of the
council's $100,000 start-up budget came from those two countries. Japanese
and Norwegian whalers were among last week's visitors to Neah Bay, said
McCarty.
The Makahs don't belong to the World Whaling Council. Tribal leaders
said they also refused financial assistance from the Japanese last year.
The Makahs' own preparations for a hunt this fall have begun moving
forward.
In recent weeks, a carver has begun fashioning a cedar log into a
hunting canoe. The eight-man crew, selected last week from the tribe's
traditional whaling families, is now in Barrow, Alaska, training with
native Alaska whaling captains who still hunt bowheads.
Opponents are battling the Makahs' plan in the media and the court. A
lawsuit challenging the hunt filed by U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Langley
and several animal-rights groups is expected to be heard this summer.
Save-the-Whales forces also promise vigorous protests against the
Makahs that could include everything from boat blockades to tourism
boycotts of the Olympic Peninsula.
Jim Simon's phone message number is 206-464-2480. His e-mail address is:
jsim-new@seatimes.com