George Bowechop, who prized his Makah heritage and rights, dies at age 85

Just as his father did for him, George Bowechop taught his children it was their responsibility to ensure that their treaty rights weren't whittled away with the passage of time.

Mr. Bowechop's great-grandfather was one of the signatories to the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay, an agreement between the Makah Nation and the U.S. government that guaranteed the tribe's "right of taking fish and of whaling or sealing" at places where it had fished and hunted for generations.

He was overjoyed when, in 1999, Makah hunters took their first gray whale in 70 years from the waters off Neah Bay, said his son Chad Bowechop. Though the decision to resume whaling proved controversial, Mr. Bowechop understood the need to educate the non-Indian community about Makah values and culture.

"He will be remembered as one of the most outstanding leaders of the Makah tribe in history," said U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash. Dicks said Mr. Bowechop "was like the Thomas Jefferson of the Makahs" and enjoyed close working relationships with the late U.S. senators Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson.

Mr. Bowechop died Dec. 24 as he was being airlifted by a Coast Guard helicopter from his home in Neah Bay to a hospital in Port Angeles, Chad Bowechop said. He died from heart complications related to diabetes and low blood pressure. He was 85.

Leaders from several West Coast nations are expected to pay their respects at a funeral at 1 p.m. today at the Neah Bay Assembly of God Church. After Mr. Bowechop's burial at the Neah Bay cemetery, a community dinner will be held in his honor at the Makah tribal center.

George Cecil Bowechop was born April 16, 1921, in Neah Bay and spent almost his entire life in the community. Mr. Bowechop, who raised five children with his late wife, Ione George, believed in education and maintaining a strong family.

"By keeping the family strong, you are then able to contribute to keeping the tribe strong," Chad Bowechop said. "My grandfather made it really clear to my dad, who made it clear to me ... that it is essential never to let the influence of our treaty diminish [because] that's how we ensure the maintenance of our culture and who we are."

Mr. Bowechop served as executive director of the Makah Nation for five years, later becoming a tribal council member and tribal chairman. He was instrumental in presenting the Makah position to federal Judge George Boldt, whose 1974 landmark decision reaffirmed the rights of Western Washington tribes to half the catch from area waterways, Chad Bowechop said.

"We want to maintain a living culture. We don't want to lose our whaling traditions and have to go out and view it in a museum," Mr. Bowechop, the first executive director of the Makah Whaling Commission, told The Seattle Times in 1997.

"We depended so much upon him and he gave so much to our tribes and our people and we're going to miss him in a big way," said Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

In addition to son Chad, of Neah Bay, Mr. Bowechop is survived by son Mike Bowechop, of Lacey, Pierce County; daughters Doreen Keyes, of Bellevue, Christine Jimmicum, of Neah Bay, and Sandra Chang, of Grand Terrace, Calif.; sisters Mary Greene and Ann Gregory, both of Neah Bay, and Hazel Lewis, of San Diego; 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the Makah Cultural and Research Center, P.O. Box 160, Neah Bay, WA 98357.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com