I agree completely with you about the right of Native peoples to adapt to new ways of doing things--we allow nearly every other culture to adapt without claiming that it negates the culture. One of the underlying features of culture is that it adapts.
I also wanted to note that someone will complain regardless of the way the whaling is carried out: if it is done traditionally (harpooning), animal rights activists complain about the inhumanity. If they use an elephant gun, there are complaints about deviation from tradition (which of course Native Americans can't do). There never seems to be a time when everyone can compromise on the matter.
--Kathryn Ritchie
(I couldn't get the site to allow me to attach this comment directly to your post, sorry)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wane Johnson of the Makah
By Craig Berard:
My last post (for now so that I'll have posted enough for a presentation of this blog). This is a short interview with Makah Whaler Wane Johnson. He was captain of the 1999 hunt, and the 2007 hunt which had been ruled illegal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG84zhwEGFs
He makes a good case for his actions. The government had been dragging its feet for eight years, not able to go to meetings, bogged down by financial strains from this process, and the thought that their treaty which should take precedence and give them exemption was being held hostage by animal rights groups.
To him the situation was desperate, and something had to be done to get it moving.
The politicizing of this issue by so many groups on top of that is beyond belief.
My last post (for now so that I'll have posted enough for a presentation of this blog). This is a short interview with Makah Whaler Wane Johnson. He was captain of the 1999 hunt, and the 2007 hunt which had been ruled illegal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG84zhwEGFs
He makes a good case for his actions. The government had been dragging its feet for eight years, not able to go to meetings, bogged down by financial strains from this process, and the thought that their treaty which should take precedence and give them exemption was being held hostage by animal rights groups.
To him the situation was desperate, and something had to be done to get it moving.
The politicizing of this issue by so many groups on top of that is beyond belief.
By Craig Berard:
The Makah Tribal Jouney.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaKrbWad3wo
It really warms my heart to see that some of their best sacred traditions are still alive and free of harassment from people with virtually no investment in their culture. Even in the absence of whaling, the Makah resiliently maintain a tradition that promotes the health and well being by allowing the people a means to come together as a community.
And like aboriginal whaling, this is hard to do. Travelling for miles in a canoe that could easily topple over, and toss everyone into the frigid waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound takes serious cajones. Granted for the sake of safety it's become more sophisticated. For instance GPS and support boats weren't always part of the canoe journey. I guess it's as close to authentic as you can get without being insane.
All the same, I hope they can keep doing this every year until the end of time.
The Makah Tribal Jouney.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaKrbWad3wo
It really warms my heart to see that some of their best sacred traditions are still alive and free of harassment from people with virtually no investment in their culture. Even in the absence of whaling, the Makah resiliently maintain a tradition that promotes the health and well being by allowing the people a means to come together as a community.
And like aboriginal whaling, this is hard to do. Travelling for miles in a canoe that could easily topple over, and toss everyone into the frigid waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound takes serious cajones. Granted for the sake of safety it's become more sophisticated. For instance GPS and support boats weren't always part of the canoe journey. I guess it's as close to authentic as you can get without being insane.
All the same, I hope they can keep doing this every year until the end of time.
Thanks so much for your posts Kathryn. I greatly appreciate it. It's so typical that science should take precedence over preserving a culture teetering on the edge of extinction. To be honest I don't even understand it. Granted, the Makah would still make use of the whales killed by sonar, as unfortunately they have been forced to make do with whatever manages to drift ashore in the years since the (temporary) ban on their whaling practices. It's just not the same, though. As for the ending comment from your article, that it's like tellingthem they can't go to church for 10 years. Try telling them they can't go to church for 65 years, letting them return for a brief revisit, and then threatening to throw them in prison if they return again. It's a struggle that many animal rights advocates don't understand and simply will not recognize. I hope the Makah win. -Craig B
Twilight?
On a fun sidenote for all you Twilighters out there in the world...my sister being one obsessed twi-hard, I've been informed that there are many Makah references throughout the book. Prrretty cool guys.
-Nadia
-Nadia
Navy Sonar versus Makah Whaling
By Kathryn Ritchie
Sorry I’m bombarding you all at once like this-it seems all quarter I’ve been dealing with stomach bugs, head bumps, strep throat, and, most recently, conjunctivitis (a child in preschool in winter ends up with everything possible…), but now the weather is better and it’s only allergies, so I finally have the free time for this assignment.
I found a site at Columbia for Case Studies in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism ( http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/eesj/casestudies/sonar.html ), which raised the rather interesting question of why public reaction might be different for Makah whaling versus the whales which were found beached and with hemorrhaging in their brains due to Navy sonar testing (found here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0331_040331_whalesincrisis.html ). Apparently, because the Navy is not intentionally whaling and is conducting “science,” that makes it okay for whales to rot on beaches? The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that sonar testing is necessary for homeland security, and the whales aren’t as important. How about the revitalization of the Makah culture? Shouldn’t that have equal importance?
Sorry I’m bombarding you all at once like this-it seems all quarter I’ve been dealing with stomach bugs, head bumps, strep throat, and, most recently, conjunctivitis (a child in preschool in winter ends up with everything possible…), but now the weather is better and it’s only allergies, so I finally have the free time for this assignment.
I found a site at Columbia for Case Studies in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism ( http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/eesj/casestudies/sonar.html ), which raised the rather interesting question of why public reaction might be different for Makah whaling versus the whales which were found beached and with hemorrhaging in their brains due to Navy sonar testing (found here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0331_040331_whalesincrisis.html ). Apparently, because the Navy is not intentionally whaling and is conducting “science,” that makes it okay for whales to rot on beaches? The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that sonar testing is necessary for homeland security, and the whales aren’t as important. How about the revitalization of the Makah culture? Shouldn’t that have equal importance?
Wayne Johnson Interview
By Kathryn Ritchie
Here’s a link to an interview with Wayne Johnson on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG84zhwEGFs
I still don’t quite understand why the Makah whaling rights have been (temporarily) revoked. I’ve seen that the hunt is “inhumane” (Fund for Animals president Michael Markarian), but the Makah actually chose to use a .50 caliber rifle instead of harpooning the whale to death, in order to be as humane as possible. I’ve already talked about subsistence. The grey whale is not currently listed as endangered. The Makah are not attempting to hunt more whales than sustainable—this isn’t commercial whaling. What, exactly, is the problem?
The cultural importance of whaling for the Makah is so important. After the whale hunt in 1999, the culture experienced a much-needed revival. I can’t blame these men for trying to help perpetuate the spiritual rewards of whaling for their people. The treaty should not be broken.
Here’s a link to an interview with Wayne Johnson on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG84zhwEGFs
I still don’t quite understand why the Makah whaling rights have been (temporarily) revoked. I’ve seen that the hunt is “inhumane” (Fund for Animals president Michael Markarian), but the Makah actually chose to use a .50 caliber rifle instead of harpooning the whale to death, in order to be as humane as possible. I’ve already talked about subsistence. The grey whale is not currently listed as endangered. The Makah are not attempting to hunt more whales than sustainable—this isn’t commercial whaling. What, exactly, is the problem?
The cultural importance of whaling for the Makah is so important. After the whale hunt in 1999, the culture experienced a much-needed revival. I can’t blame these men for trying to help perpetuate the spiritual rewards of whaling for their people. The treaty should not be broken.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)