As we continue to delve into Washington State History you will come across numerous encounters with Native American peoples. How our books handle those histories will be minimal at best. When possible I try to balance those perspectives found in the book with those from the reservation.
In Washington’s Coastal Region at Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula is the Makah Indian Reservation. The Makah Indians are Whale hunters. When the United States expanded its domain all the way westward to what is now Washington State they made treaties with native tribes that essentially moved those tribes onto reservations. Within those treaties, Native American tribes retained certain rights and claims on those reservation lands. In an 1855 treaty with the United States, the Makah tribe retained the right to hunt whales. They did so until discontinuing the practice in the 1920s as the whale population had been decimated almost to extinction by commercial whaling. The Makah were forced to give up the tradition with the last documented Makah whale hunt occurring in 1926.
After the grey whale was taken off the endangered species list in 1995 the Makah wanted to bring back the practice of hunting whales. In 1999 to help retain their disappearing history and culture, the Makah hunted their first whale in 73 years. This set off a storm of legal action, environmental protest, and various debate over indigenous people’s rights.
For almost two decades the Makah Indians and the Federal Government have gone back & forth to court over this issue. The Makah have asked for the right to hunt up to 5 whales maximum a year over the next 5 years. This according to the government’s own data wouldn’t harm the current populations. However, the government and some environmental protection groups argue that the Makah shouldn’t be given such a right. They argue that the Makah do not qualify for “aboriginal subsistence whaling” even though it is central to their culture, they haven’t had an uninterrupted history of whaling as they stopped the tradition for 70 years.
DEBATE QUESTION: (20 Choice Work points for my WA History classes)
Should the Makah tribe have the right to hunt grey whales?
How do you feel about this? Do you feel you have any responsibility to undo what our ancestors did? Should we honor the treaties we broke more than 100 years ago? Should we protect the whales regardless of broken treaties & customs? To receive your Choice Work points (WA History classes): Explain why or why not by backing up your position with facts (TBEs) from researched websites.
You may comment on what other students have to say as well, but keep it on topic and respect one another’s opinions.