And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes: 1. Makah: A Whale Has Been Taken 2. BC won't allow whaling :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 18:49:27 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: MAKAH: A Whale Has Been Taken Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 09:35:47 -0700 From: Storm Reyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Using the words of a Makah Elder: This morning, a whale presented itself to the Makah people and offered itself to the whalers and was taken. It was my privilege to be able to the watch the entire hunt this morning on TV. At least two stations carried it, so now I report what I was with my own eyes. On Saturday, the Makah went to hunt and protestors buzzed the canoe and the canoe so badly at one, for certain, and possibly two whales were injured by the protestors' aluminium boat. The protestor boats went right over the back of the whale in an effort to "protect" the whale. Blood was clearly visible on one whale where the engines and boat bottom had cut it. As a result, the Coast Guard confiscated 3 boats and a jet ski. This morning at 4:30 am, the whalers took to the sea. There were no protest boats out (Coast Guard had all the small ones locked up). Although I had been taught how a relation offers itself to the people, I have never before witnessed it. It was a magic moment. There were four whales in the sea. The first the Makah approached, turned itself away from them and they left it. The whalers approached the second. It waited for them and when the canoe was close and the harpooner stood, the whale raised its head out of the water right next to the canoe. There was a moment when you could almost hear the whale and harpooner speak to each other. The harpoon was thrown and stuck. The whale began to move out. A second harpoon was thrown, and then the whalers got a wild ride. When the first harpoon struck, the whale thrashed some and the canoe was right above it. There was fear the canoe would overturn, but the whale was careful and never raised its tail or tried to harm the whalers. In just a few moments, the support boat pulled alongside the whale and a third harpoon with a heavier line was thrown and struck. The whalers on the support boat shot at the whale three times, missing on the first two. The whale again raised its head high and the third shot killed it instantly. The entire hunt lasted just 10 minutes. The Makah are now towing the whale to a beach where the people are waiting to do ceremony. Media will not be allowed at the ceremony. After the ceremony, the whale will be rendered by the Makah and distributed to the people. Puyallups, Nisquallys, Tulups (and I'm sure others) peoples are on the rez today to support the Makah, particularly after what happened Saturday which was so incredibly dangerous and explosive. A reporter this morning spoke with people at a restaurant on the rez (the only restaurant BTW). She said that as they watched the hunt, the mood was quiet and somber and when the whale was taken, a prayer attitude prevailed. There was no whooping and hollering, just a quiet respectful moment and lots of tears of gratitude. The whalers, themselves, were hugging each other and raising their paddles in the air. After the whale was taken, the large Sea Shephard boat raced toward the canoe at a really high rate of speed and broke the 500 feet boundary. I applaud the Coast Guard and the men who protected the whalers. A small rubber dingy with 3 Coast Guard personnel put itself between the large ship and the canoe and the ship turned away before hitting the dingy. Please hold the Makah and the whale in your prayers this day. Now also, the hunt has revived racism against Native peoples in this area to a new high. Northwest Cable News took calls this morning and one man ranted and raved about how the US Government protected the Makah and tax dollars were spent by having the Coast Guard out there in order to support this tradition. He asked if the government would now support and protect white hunters who wanted to revive their old tradition...hunting Indians. Unfortunately, that is now a common sentiment. I am in awe of what I saw this morning. Storm Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: PREMIER VOWS TO IMPEDE WHALE HUNTING IN BC The Vancouver Sun, May 18, 1999, by Craig McInnes and Doug Ward [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] VICTORIA -- B.C. will not sign any treaty with native Indian bands that includes the right to hunt whales, Premier Glen Clark declared Monday after the Makah tribe of Washington state made their first kill. Clark said whaling falls under federal jurisdiction, but it would be "outrageous" if a band were to be allowed to kill a whale. The Makah killed a grey whale Monday morning, first harpooning it, causing the mammal to dive, then firing at least two shots into it at close range from .50-calibre rifles when it resurfaced several minutes later. Two B.C. coastal native groups have claimed a hereditary right to hunt whales. "We will use whatever leverage we have at the bargaining table and the treaties to ensure that there is no whale hunt in British Columbia." Clark said he was repulsed by the killing of the whale Monday, a reaction he believes most people will share. But Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gordon Wilson was less certain that B.C. natives could be prevented from whaling. "It may well be that the rights that they have under Sparrow with respect to salmon may have similar application to harvesting of whales. That's something we have to look at," Wilson said. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1984 that Reginald Sparrow, a member of the Musqueam band, had an aboriginal right to fish for salmon that superceded the right of the federal government to regulate the fishery. Wilson said the current position is to refuse to approve any treaty that includes whaling, but if natives go to court to establish a right to hunt whales, that could change. "One obviously has to respect the law, but it's purely hypothetical at this point." He stressed that no band claiming a hereditary right to hunt whales has yet brought the issue to the treaty table. "Our view is that they don't, they're going to have to prove that they do and if they choose to pursue it, I guess they'll have to do so in the courts," Wilson said. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell called the whale kill "an appalling, senseless, wasteful, disgraceful act." "I certainly don't want it happening in British Columbia for any purpose, whether it's commercial or ceremonial or customary." Campbell said he had legal advice that natives do not have an aboriginal right to hunt whales. "I think it's a brutal and archaic practice. I think that it should be stopped." Clark's remarks were criticized by Nelson Keitlah, co-chair of the Nu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, which represents 13 bands on the central and north coast of western Vancouver Island and wants to negotiate whaling rights in its treaties. "Colonialism hasn't really left us, has it?" said Keitlah. "He [Clark] is saying what we should eat and what we shouldn't eat." Keitlah also said that it was improper for the premier to determine which issues will be on the bargaining table in the Nu-Chah-Nulth treaty talks. "We are in treaty negotiations and that is one of the issues that will be there. It's not on the table. But upon our insistence it will be." Keitlah said that whaling is important to his people for food but also for cultural reasons. "It's part of reaching for that epic where capturing a whale is the ultimate for any of our hunters." Keitlah said that members of his band are proud of the whale killing carried out by the Makah. "This is a historic day for our people. We want to send our congratulations to the Makah nation. It's been 70-80 years since it was last done." Keitlah, who is based in Port Alberni, said it was whaling by white men that seriously reduced whale stocks -- not whaling by native people. "We had nothing to do with their [the whales'] demise. But all of a sudden people are upset when we want to take one." The Ditidaht and Pacheedaht bands, located about 120 kilometres northwest of Victoria, also have significant cultural ties to whaling. Anthony Marr of the Western Canadian Wilderness Committee, said the anti-whaling campaign is not aimed at aboriginal rights. "We are not pointing fingers at the native people. We are just against whaling." Marr said it was "ludicrous" to describe Monday's whale killing as a revival of tradition. "They used a power boat to get out to where the whales were spotted. Then they went out in a canoe to harpoon the whale. Then they used a .50-calibre gun to shoot the whale." Marr said that the Makah's whale hunt has little to do with the band's food needs. "It's something they've chosen as a vehicle to assert themselves as a self-determined people. "If they want to do that -- fine. But if they do it at the expense of a whale, I'm opposed to that." The whale kill was also attacked by animal-rights activist Peter Hamilton of the Vancouver-based Lifeforce. "Anyone who enjoys subjecting an intelligent, sentient whale to an agonizing, slow death is a bloodthirsty savage," said Hamilton. "I don't know how these whale murderers can live with themselves." :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to the Vancouver Sun - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Letters to Craig McInnes - mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
