The Makah Whaling Conflict:
Whaling Protests

Makah Whaling Conflict
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In the fall of 1998, the Makah attempted to implement the first season of their hunt, and a flotilla of protest vessels, spearheaded by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, began a two month occupation of Neah Bay to prevent them from taking a whale. From late September to late November over fifteen protest vessels trailed any boat that left Makah Marina. The Makah Tribal Council passed an ordinance prohibiting any of these vessels from docking at the Makah Marina. Most of the protest actions of the fleet involved defying the ordinance or coming near the docks to deliver speeches to the Makah via loudspeaker.[12]

Whaling season opened on October 1st, but it was immediately delayed after a meeting between Makah leaders and the NMFS. At that time it was agreed that in order to target only “migrating” whales, the Makah would have to wait a month before hunting. (While all gray whales migrate from the arctic to Baja California, some linger near Neah Bay to feed and become known to local whale-watchers.) The decision meant the crew would have to go further out to sea, increasing the hunt’s danger. The decision also limited the Makah’s right to hunt in their “usual and accustomed” places. However, Marcy Parker (Makah Tribal Council) told the press the Makah agreed to the decision to show “respect for the government, and for the world.”[13]

A protest march on October 31st led to confrontation between whaling opponents and Neah Bay residents. Tribal Police stopped the march at the borders of the reservation. Members of the whaling crew came out to speak to the protesters, but were received with insults such as “How many of you will be drunk when you all go out in your canoe after your big party tonight?”, and “What is a Makah whaler? A harpoon on Viagra.” A distraught woman yelled, “You are evil! Evil! Evil! You have a black heart....Real men don’t kill animals. Only a coward kills whales. You are a coward and a sissy.” “Go stand in front of McDonald’s” countered Wayne Johnson (a whaling crew member), “Look at those leather shoes on your feet.” The next day, Sea Shepherd members attempted to enter the reservation, ostensibly to accept a dinner invitation from Alberta Thompson. They received a hostile response from Makah residents: children stoned their vessels, breaking windows and lights, and Tribal Police arrested four protesters and confiscated their Zodiac. Tribal Police say they detained the protesters for their own safety, although one protester sustained a head injury while being arrested (the protesters were turned over to the county Sheriff’s office and released without charge).[14]

Whaling opponents ended their occupation of Neah Bay in late November with the whale migration over and no hunting in sight. They also hit upon the possibility of offering the Makah a financial incentive to forgo the hunt. Communications billionaire Craig McCaw made such a financial overture in mid-November, and an organization called “People for Makah and Whales” put an ad in the local newspaper offering to support development projects or the purchase of alienated Makah lands. Tribal members have rejected these offers and remain determined to go hunting.

The offer of compensation to forgo the hunt appears to have been a respectful, sincere and rational approach to alleviating the disagreement between whaling opponents and the Makah. The Makah people were essentially asked if there were not some other cultural aspiration which they could be helped in pursuing that would make up for whaling. So why did the Makah reject it? I can only speculate and do not speak on behalf of the Makah, but I can think of three potential reasons: 1) nothing, even alienated land, is as important to the Makah as whaling; 2) Native Americans have often had their lands and natural resources stolen by non-natives, and when they have taken the issue to court, they have often received cash payments in lieu of the resources they would like to have returned to them. “Compensation” has thus become a bitter form of legitimating theft in the eyes of many Native Americans; and 3) the Makah may rightfully be fearful of doing or accepting anything that could later be interpreted as an abandonment of their treaty rights. These rights are more than property rights, they are a legacy of the Makah generation that negotiated the treaty to the generations that follow, a legacy that defines Makah cultural heritage as a group. In a similar manner, the US constitution is not just a legal charter for the country, but a symbol of America’s cultural values and identity as well.

Speaking of the failed season, Keith Johnson explained that the whalers “decided to take a step back and try to regain their focus.”

They said “We lost our focus, they said we need to back up, see where this whole thing is headed, see what’s going on.” I don’t blame them. There’s a lot of pressure on us. It’s hard to contend with sometimes. We are looking at how we can straighten out our canoe. Get back to things.[15]

With the decision by Iceland’s parliament to resume commercial whaling in March 1999, Sea Shepherd announced that it would shift most of its future activism to that country.[16]