Last fall, five whalers killed a grey whale off the Straight of Juan de Fuca. They were charged with illegal whaling, violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This would be a simple cut and dry case, but these men and women were members of the Makah tribe. Now, the Makah tribe is not exempt from this Act just yet. They have been waiting to be waived. Though, with this recent violation, things are not looking very good for making them exempt.
This article bring up an interesting issue. One that has to do with the indigenous peoples of these United States. An issue that has to do with culture shock, within ones own country. If you step back, and take a look at the big picture, this tribe was here first. And they had been whaling long before “caucasian” people came to this land. Now, I won’t go into depth about the settlers vs. the natives. But, I believe that these people should be given the right to practice their culture. I can understand the fact that whales are endangered, and should be protected. Realizing this, I sought out to find why these animals are endangered, and who was it that made them that way.
And what did I find? No, not whaling practiced by natives. It was commercial whaling that had depleted and killed off the population. This fact is why I support tribal whaling. It was not them who reduced the population, it was “us”. The “caucasian”, the “white man”. To be more precise, the second people who inhabited this land. The native people of America deserve to practice their own culture, whether it be whaling, using Peyote in spiritual practices, or the like. They were here first, this is their country.
Article referenced: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008026348_webmakah30m.html
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Tags: American, Makah, The White man, Whales
2 July, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Wow, it’s a shock for me to hear that it was due to non-Native Americans that whales became endangered. It almost disgusts me that the people trying to take away the Natives’ ability to carry on a piece of their culture are the ones who caused the species to become endangered in the first place. Not only that, but the Natives claimed this land long before anyone else. I agree that although this species is endangered, Indian tribes who practice whale-hunting as a part of their culture should still be allowed to do so. It’s not like they’re doing it for fun, it serves a meaningful purpose for them and by limiting the hunting to these tribes, I doubt whales will go extinct. Word Count 128